The Town Planning Board today (September 21) announced amendments to the approved Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

     The amendments mainly involve rezoning of an area at In Ku Lane from "Government, Institution or Community" to an area shown as "Pedestrian Precinct/Street". Opportunity is also taken to amend the Explanatory Statement of the OZP to reflect the above amendment and to update the general information of various land use zonings and the planning area, where appropriate.
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     The draft Urban Renewal Authority Queen's Road West/In Ku Lane Development Scheme Plan (DSP) No. S/H3/URA3/1 has replaced that part of the draft Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan OZP No. S/H3/32 delineated and described in the DSP from the date the exhibition of the DSP is first notified in the Gazette on September 21.
      
     The draft Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan OZP No. S/H3/32, incorporating the amendments, is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Hong Kong District Planning Office and the Central and Western District Office.

     Any person can make written representations in respect of the amendments to the Secretary of the Board on or before November 21. Representations made to the Board will be available for public inspection.

     Copies of the draft Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the OZP can be viewed at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).

     The Town Planning Board today (September 21) announced the publication of the draft Urban Renewal Authority (URA) Queen's Road West/In Ku Lane Development Scheme Plan (DSP) No. S/H3/URA3/1.
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     The scheme area covers about 0.2 hectares and is designated as "Residential (Group A)23". The scheme is for a composite residential/commercial development with a government refuse collection point, a public toilet, a neighbourhood elderly centre sub-base and a public open space. The affected five-a-side soccer pitch of Li Sing Street Playground within the scheme area, and the adjacent basketball court, will be reprovided with a re-arranged layout, and will be implemented as advance works of the proposed development.

     In accordance with section 25(9) of the URA Ordinance, the draft DSP replaces the draft Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan Outline Zoning Plan in relation to the area delineated and described in the draft DSP.
      
     The draft Queen's Road West/In Ku Lane DSP No. S/H3/URA3/1 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Hong Kong District Planning Office and the Central and Western District Office.

     Any person can make written representations in respect of the draft DSP to the Secretary of the Board on or before November 21. Representations made to the Board will be available for public inspection.

     Copies of the draft DSP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, September 21, 2018 is 104.4 (up 0.1 against yesterday's index).

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (September 20) seized 572 suspected smuggled smartphones and 124 suspected smuggled mobile phone parts with an estimated market value of about $510,000 at Shenzhen Bay Control Point.

     Customs officers yesterday intercepted an outgoing private vehicle at Shenzhen Bay Control Point and found the batch of suspected smuggled smartphones and mobile phone parts on board the vehicle.

     The 57-year-old male driver was arrested. Investigation is ongoing.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

    

     A science forum entitled "Meet the Shaw Laureates 2018 – The challenges and the joy of doing science" will be held at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Science Museum next Friday (September 28) from 2pm to 5pm.
 
     Is their work lonely and difficult or, on the contrary, full of fun and surprises? Shaw Laureates 2018 will attend the forum to share their experiences in scientific research. Speakers are as follows:
 
Shaw Laureate in Astronomy
Dr Jean-Loup Puget (Researcher, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale of Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paris-Saclay, France)
 
Shaw Laureate in Life Science and Medicine
Professor Mary-Claire King (American Cancer Society Professor, Department of Medicine and Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, United States)
 
Shaw Laureate in Mathematical Sciences
Professor Luis A Caffarelli (Professor of Mathematics, University of Texas at Austin, United States)
 
Moderators:
Professor Chu Ming-chung (Professor, Department of Physics, Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Professor Chan Wai-yee (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Master of CW Chu College, Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Acting Director of School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Professor Wang Xiaoping (Head/Chair Professor, the Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
 
     The forum will be conducted in English. Admission is free on a first come, first served basis. Interested parties may register at hk.science.museum/ms/shaw2018/forum.html by 2pm next Thursday (September 27). For enquiries, please call 2732 3223.
 
     The event is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Shaw Prize Foundation, and organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Hong Kong Space Museum, the Education Bureau and Hong Kong Education City.
 
     The Shaw Prize, which consists of three annual awards, namely the Prize in Astronomy, the Prize in Life Science and Medicine and the Prize in Mathematical Sciences, was established in November 2002. The Shaw Prize is an international award to honour individuals who are currently active in their respective fields and have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances, or have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications, or have achieved excellence in other domains.