Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Yang Wing-kit and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):
 
Question:
 
     The Government has indicated that the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) will open in the first half of next year, and will host eight events of the 15th ‍National Games including Fencing, Men’s Handball, Rugby Sevens and Bowling. In addition, it has been reported that the Hong Kong Sevens will also be moved to stage at the KTSP next year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it knows if there will be other major sports events and large-‍scale cultural and entertainment events such as concerts and variety shows staging at the KTSP next year; if there will be, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) whether the authorities will request the operator of the KTSP to discuss with the Transport Department the transport arrangements to be made during the staging of major sports events next year, including the provision of fare-paying tour coaches to transport spectators to and from nearby MTR stations, the introduction of more bus routes to and from the KTSP, and the construction of a smart car park at an adjacent site to divert the flow of spectators; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) whether it will produce pamphlets to recommend to spectators attending matches at the KTSP the neighbouring attractions such as those for food and entertainment, so as to provide them with better leisure experiences; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Occupying an area of about 28 hectares and being the largest sports infrastructure project in Hong Kong’s history, the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) is crucial to the Government’s implementation of sports policies of promoting sports in the community, supporting elite sports, developing Hong Kong into a centre for major international sports events, enhancing professionalism and developing sports as an industry. The KTSP adopts a “Design, Build and Operate” model, with Kai Tak Sports Park Limited (KTSPL) as the Contracted Party responsible for the design, construction and future operation of the KTSP. The contract is for 25 years, including five years for design and construction and approximately 20 years for operation. The Contracted Party operates on a self-financing basis and is required to make fixed payments to the Government on a regular basis and share a percentage of its total income with the Government.
      
     The KTSP will provide modern and multi-purpose sports and recreation facilities upon completion, including a 50 000-seat Main Stadium, a   10 000-seat Indoor Sports Centre, a 5 000-seat Public Sports Ground and about 14-hectare landscaped open space and other ancillary facilities. Among others, the Main Stadium, equipping with a retractable roof, offering different stage positioning and seating configurations as well as adopting a flexible pitch system design, provides more options for hosting different types of large-scale cultural and entertainment events such as concerts.
      
     My consolidated reply to the questions raised by the Hon Yang Wing-kit is as follows:
      
     Currently, the main structure of the Public Sports Ground, the Indoor Sports Centre and the Main Stadium have been largely completed. According to the current construction progress, we expect that the major facilities of the KTSP will be completed by end of 2024. Upon successful implementation of the test events and satisfactory completion of various testing, the KTSP will be open in the first half of 2025. To better prepare for the opening, we are working with KTSPL on the pre-commissioning arrangements, including the close monitoring of work progress, the preparation for test events as well as the testing of facilities such as scoring, public address and lighting systems of various venues. We will also, in collaboration with KTSPL and relevant departments, arrange for various trials to fine-tune and enhance the operation model and various arrangements when staging large-scale events.
      
     In terms of event arrangements, KTSPL has been liaising closely with different government departments and relevant stakeholders, including “national sports associations”, representatives of the sports sector, entertainment and performance industry, to understand more about their needs and interests towards the facilities of the KTSP. KTSPL also proactively reaches out to and follows up with organisations that are interested in organising events in the KTSP, with a view to jointly promoting the KTSP as “the destination” for local and international large-scale sports and entertainment events as well as adding more vibrancy to Hong Kong as an events capital.
      
     KTSPL has so far made contact with over 200 local and international sports and non-sports events’ promotion bodies, organisations and agencies, among which around 50 of them have expressed interest in utilising the facilities at the KTSP and are learning about the leasing arrangements. Such discussion, involving commercial negotiations, is still ongoing. Generally speaking, the promotion strategy of events is led by organisers whereas KTSPL, being the venue provider, has to act in concert with the plans of the event organisers. KTSPL cannot disclose details of the events before the organisers do so in accordance with the lease agreements. We trust that event organisers will take into account their overall promotion strategy and share more details of their events with the public in due course.
      
     As regards transportation arrangements, the KTSP is located at the core of the Kai Tak Development Area with diversified, efficient and convenient transportation facilities. It is in proximity to Kai Tak Station and Sung Wong Toi Station of the MTR with about 10 to 15 minutes’ walking distance from both stations. Apart from using the convenient railway network to travel to or from the KTSP, the public can also take a number of bus routes at nearby bus stops connecting to various districts in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. Apart from the supporting facilities such as taxi stands and more than 800 parking spaces in the precinct, the shopping malls near the KTSP also provide ancillary facilities such as car park for public use, meeting the travelling needs of the public in different modes. During the staging of large-scale events, we will closely liaise with KTSPL, relevant departments (including Hong Kong Police Force and the Transport Department etc.) and transport operators as early as possible. Depending on the scale of the events and the needs of the visitors, we will deploy contingency measures such as strengthening railway services and arranging special services to meet the additional traffic demand during the event period. We will also test the effectiveness of relevant transportation arrangements when the test events are staged so that we can adjust relevant strategies as necessary to improve response efficiency.
      
     On improving the experience of visitors to the KTSP, the precinct offers various kinds of catering facilities, including some 70 outlets of international cuisines, mobile catering booths that can be flexibly arranged according to the scale and needs of the events as well as nine diversified concept restaurants at the Dining Cove for citizens and tourists to dine in the indoor or outdoor areas. The neighbouring districts of Kowloon City and To Kwa Wan which are in close proximity of the KTSP also provide an array of dining options. Citizens and tourists who visit the KTSP for matches or large-scale events can easily proceed to the two districts for a taste of our local culinary delights. The mobile app to be developed by KTSPL will provide visitors with one-stop services, including promotion information on leisure and catering options as well as various events. We will continue to work closely with KTSPL to further enhance visitors’ experience as well as liaise with relevant departments and the Hong Kong Tourism Board to promote the leisure and catering options in the vicinity of the KTSP so as to create a synergy effect for bringing about local economic development.
      
     With concerted efforts of various participating departments and units, the construction of the KTSP has entered its final stage. We believe that Hong Kong citizens, like us, are eagerly anticipating the completion and opening of the KTSP. The KTSP will bring about significant synergy to the development of Hong Kong. While promoting sports in the community, supporting elite sports, maintaining Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, enhancing professionalism and developing sports as an industry, the KTSP will also drive the development of related industries such as entertainment, performances and tourism. The Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau will continue to work closely with KTSPL and various government departments. An inter-departmental working group led by the Chief Secretary for Administration will also be set up to co-ordinate relevant work with a view to ensuring the successful completion and commissioning of the KTSP, thereby creating a new landmark of Hong Kong. Thank you President. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 is 106.1 (same as yesterday’s index). read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Leung Man-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the refurbishment of recovered public rental housing (PRH) flats, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the average number of days between PRH tenants who had successfully purchased flats under the Home Ownership Scheme and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme took over the keys of the purchased flats and moved out of their PRH flats in the past three years, and among such PRH tenants, the number and percentage of those who had applied for extended stay in PRH flats;
 
(2) of the process for reinstating the fittings and fixtures in PRH flats by PRH tenants when they move out of their flats;
 
(3) given that according to the Hong Kong Housing Authority’s key performance indicators, refurbishment of vacant PRH flats is required to be completed within 44 days, of the longest, shortest and average time required for the Housing Department (HD) to refurbish such flats in the past three years; and
 
(4) as the Government has indicated in the reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on April 10 this year that if the fixtures and fittings installed by the outgoing PRH tenant are in good conditions, the HD will generally allow them to be retained without having to be reinstated such that the prospective tenant can choose to keep using them, whether there is any case in which the incoming tenant chooses not to accept such fixtures and fittings and, under such circumstances, who will be responsible for the costs of reinstating such fixtures and fittings?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     In order to expedite the process of recovering of public rental housing (PRH) flats and minimise the period of receiving double housing benefit, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) will require tenants who have purchased subsidised sale flats (SSFs) to return their PRH flats as soon as possible. According to the prevailing policy, PRH tenants are required to terminate the original tenancies and surrender the existing PRH flats to the HA within 60 days upon (i) taking over keys of the flats purchased (including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH)); or (ii) the 10th working day from the date of execution of the deed of assignment of the flat purchased, whichever is earlier. In case of need, households concerned may apply for an extended stay for a maximum period of 30 days, during which they are required to pay an occupation fee on a daily basis equivalent to triple net rent plus rates; or if they are market rent payers at the time of termination of tenancy, to pay market rent or triple net rent plus rates (whichever is the higher).
 
     In consideration of the need to deal with more vacant flats in the future, the Housing Department (HD) has optimised the workflow of vacant flat refurbishment to expedite the works progress, and implemented a new mechanism to provide contractors with information of housing estates, including the type and size of flat units, that become vacant due to the purchase of SSFs at least three months in advance. This allows the contractors to make prior arrangement for manpower and materials required for the refurbishment works.
 
     In addition, upon receiving notification from tenants of their planned moving out from PRH flats due to the purchase of SSFs, the HD will arrange a preliminary vacating inspection with the tenants in existing flats within 10 working days from the date when they take over the keys of the new purchased flat, and at the same time the HD will inform the tenants of the items to be removed or reinstated before they return the existing flat, so as to allow the tenants to budget early and choose to arrange the reinstatement works themselves or pay the HD for carrying out the reinstatement works; such arrangement can also facilitate HA’s contractors to have better resource and manpower planning for timely completion of works. The HD frontline and managerial staff at different levels will convene regular meetings with contractors to review the overall progress and performance of refurbishment works, supervise the contractors and resolve any difficulties that may be encountered during the progress of works, as well as to improve works efficiency and service quality.
 
     Four HOS and GSH courts were completed in the past year, providing about 8 800 units. Many of the PRH tenants surrendered their PRH flats due to purchase of HOS and GSH flats. Coupled with the HD’s tremendous efforts put in combating tenancy abuse of PRH flats, about 15 500 units were recovered for different reasons, which was 55 per cent more than an annual number of about 10 000 units in the past. In order to meet the challenge of an increasing vacant flat refurbishment works in the future, the HD is reviewing the standards of works and streamlining the workflow, with an aim of achieving the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of 44 days on average.
 
     In response to the questions raised by the Hon Leung Man-kwong, the reply is as follows:
 
(1) In the past three years, among the cases of PRH tenants who had purchased first-hand HOS/GSH flats and surrendered their PRH units, the average time taken from the tenants’ execution of the deed of assignments to the surrender of their PRH flats was around 70 days. In the past three years, among those having successfully purchased flats under the HOS and the GSH, an average of about 1 360 households (61 per cent) applied for extension for returning PRH flats. One of the main reasons is that the renovation works of the newly purchased flats have not yet been completed. 
 
(2) Under the prevailing arrangement, estate staff will arrange a preliminary vacating inspection at the existing flats with tenants or their representative and works staff of the HD within 10 working days from the date they collect the keys of SSFs purchased, so as to inform them the reinstatement items and the cost required if such are carried out by the HD. Tenants may choose to arrange the reinstatement works themselves or pay the HD for carrying out the reinstatement works. On the day when tenants hand over the flats, estate staff will further conduct a final vacating inspection together with the tenants or their representatives and works staff of the HD to ensure that original fixtures and facilities are properly reinstated. Otherwise, tenants will have to pay the HD for the reinstatement charges plus the prevailing administrative costs incurred.
 
(3) After a tenant has moved out from a public housing unit, the HD will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the landlord installations in the unit and arrange refurbishment works based on actual need, which generally include the removal and replacement of power supply, water supply and gas supply installations and equipment within the units; waterproofing and plaster works; installation of plumbing and drainage pipes, sanitary fitments, metal works and carpentry, painting works and post-completion cleaning, etc. In individual cases, the HD has to carry out major repairs in the recovered units and its adjacent flats or common areas, such as larger scale concrete repairs and water seepage repairs at upper floor units, etc. Yet, the repairs involving adjacent flats must be carried out before completion of vacant flat refurbishment works so as to maintain structural safety and integrity of the building. Despite the KPI of 44 days’ turnaround time on average for vacant flat refurbishment works, the actual time required may vary depending on the number of units required to be refurbished at the same time, as well as the scope and complexity of the works for the individual units. Therefore, the overall time required to complete the refurbishment works for each vacant unit may be different. Once the contractor reports the completion of the refurbishment works, the HD will promptly arrange an inspection to ensure that the refurbished unit meets the required standards.
 
     In the past three years, although part of the time was still during the epidemic, the average turnaround time for vacant flat refurbishment works was 45 days, which is very close to the KPI of 44 days. Among them, the shortest refurbishment time taken for some cases was only 19 days, while about 1 per cent of the vacant flats took more than 100 days to complete, the longest time required for one case was 197 days. The HD has reviewed the situation of individual vacant flats that took a longer time to complete the refurbishment, and found that in 2023, there was a significant increase in the number of public housing residents vacating their public housing flats due to purchasing SSFs as compared with the same period in previous years. In the first three quarters of 2023 alone, nearly 5 000 public housing households vacated their units after purchasing SSFs, which is approximately three times higher than the average for the previous two years. In some regions, the number of vacant flats even doubled within a three-month period from May to July 2023. Owing to the sharp increase in the number of vacant units within a short period of time, the workload of vacant flat refurbishment works in some regions had exceeded the short-term capacity of the contractors in these regions. Although the HD anticipated an increase in vacant flat refurbishment works due to the sale exercises of SSFs and provided contractors with at least three months’ advance notice to arrange for additional manpower and materials for the refurbishment works, the current shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry in Hong Kong had rendered difficulty for the contractors to recruit enough additional manpower to cater for the short-term surge in workload. In order to reduce the impact on prospective tenants, the HD has requested the contractors to appropriately adjust their sequence of work, accord priority to the refurbishment works of vacant flats that have already been allocated to prospective tenants; and expedite the progress of works. On the contrary, if the flat concerned has not yet been accepted by the applicant, the HD will accord the refurbishment works of that flat unit to a lower priority in the face of a sharp increase in the number of vacant flats in a short period of time.
 
     Taking into account the need to deal with an increasing number of vacant flats in the future due to the purchase of SSFs, the HD is reviewing the workflow and standards for vacant flats refurbishment works in order to expedite the work progress. It is expected that the review will be completed in 2024.
 
(4) According to prevailing arrangement, the HD will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the installations and equipment in the units before public housing tenants move out from the flats. The HD will adopt a flexible and “people-oriented” approach to assess and determine which installations and equipment can be retained, repaired or need to be improved. If the fixtures and equipment installed by the previous tenant are in a good condition, the HD will generally retain them (i.e. there is no need for the outgoing tenants to reinstate to its original state) for the continued use by the incoming tenant. This arrangement not only reduces waste and construction debris, contributing to environment protection, but also helps reduce the decoration costs and time for incoming tenants, as well as the restoration time for outgoing tenants. Hence, it is generally welcomed by tenants. If a new tenant is unwilling to accept the installations and equipment in the unit that have been assessed by the HD as suitable for use, it is considered that he/she refuses to accept the allocation, and the unit will be immediately returned to the Applications Sub-section of the HD for re-allocation. read more

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on May 21 to noon today (May 22), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 240 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 53 153 samples of food imported from Japan (including 34 415 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 13 486 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):

Question:

     It is learnt that the Northern Metropolis is the Government’s key planning project, and a number of construction projects relating to the Northern Metropolis will commence successively this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the expenditures of various development projects of the Northern Metropolis (including studies, land resumption, land formation and construction works) (set out in a table); and

(2) whether it will formulate measures to streamline the administration workflows and reduce market risks, so as to bring down the costs of developing the Northern Metropolis and increase the market’s incentive to submit tenders, thereby accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis; if so, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     The Government is taking forward the development of the Northern Metropolis in full steam, which includes various New Development Areas (NDAs) at different planning and development stages. 

     In consultation with the relevant government departments, the reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Lam is as follows:

(1) The expenditure or estimates known so far for studies, land resumption and works involved in NDAs in the Northern Metropolis are listed at Annex. Since some projects are still under different stages of study, the land uses, engineering schemes, detailed design and implementation phasing would be subject to study. We would only be able to provide more accurate estimates on the expenditure of those projects when the relevant studies/design proceed to a more mature stage. Besides, the Government’s expenditure and relevant estimates on land resumption and works for NDAs will be affected by different land development or disposal arrangements, such as whether in-situ land exchange applications within NDAs are successful, or whether the Government would invite market enterprises to undertake large-scale land development according to requirements set out by the Government. 

(2) It has always been an objective of the current-term Government to enhance speed in development. Laws were amended in 2023 to streamline the development-related statutory procedures, enabling us to shorten the lead time required before commencing works in NDAs. After the legislative amendment, the development time required from commencement of studies to delivery of the first parcels of formed land for NDAs could be reduced from around 13 years in the past to about seven years. 
 
     For administrative procedures, we have implemented a number of streamlining measures in the past, among such which are more relevant to the development of the Northern Metropolis include the simplification and standardisation of the title-checking procedure, extension of the arrangement for standardisation of land premium for agricultural land outside NDAs, etc. Besides, dedicated units have been set up under the Lands Department and the Buildings Department to handle large-scale residential developments more speedily. The Development Projects Facilitation Office under the Development Bureau (DEVB) will co-ordinate with relevant departments and provide one-stop facilitation services for development projects. The streamlining of administrative procedures is an on-going task. We will continue exploring further scope in streamlining the development process and reducing the lead time required. We plan to brief the Panel on Development in around mid-2024 on our efforts on this front.

     The Government will also expedite the development of the Northern Metropolis by actively leveraging market forces and adopting diverse development modes. Amongst others, under the Enhanced Conventional New Town Approach, the Government allows landowners to participate in the development of NDAs by in-situ land exchange. Following the enhanced in-situ land exchange arrangement announced by the Government in end 2023 which includes facilitation to landowners owning 90 per cent or above of private land within a development site to carry out consolidated development, we concluded the first land exchange agreement under the enhanced arrangement last month, which is also the third successful land exchange case in NDAs of the Northern Metropolis. In fact, the first private housing development in the Northern Metropolis implemented by in-situ land exchange has already been completed with population intake commenced in 2022, earlier than the population intake of the first public housing development in 2026. The option to adopt standard rates in premium assessment as mentioned above has already been introduced in NDAs with a view to shortening the time required for premium assessment. In addition, we will explore introducing the large-scale land development approach whereby sizable land parcels (including parcels with value for commercial development and investment returns, as well as community facilities and other infrastructures that would bring about longer-term economic and social benefits) in some NDAs in the Northern Metropolis would be selected for the enterprise, the successful bidder, to develop and construct the project collectively. This mode of development can alleviate the upfront financial burden of the Government, facilitate a more co-ordinated design for the development of an area, and expedite the provision of public facilities by leveraging market forces. At the same time, we will take into account factors like the economic and property market situation and dispose land in an orderly manner.

     Moreover, the Government has always been concerned about construction costs. In terms of project governance initiatives, the DEVB established the Project Strategy and Governance Office (PSGO) in 2019 to further enhance the performance of infrastructure works projects by implementing various strategic initiatives to enhance capabilities in cost surveillance and project governance. The PSGO also uplifts productivity and efficiency in order to reduce project costs through the implementation of “Construction 2.0”, promotion for wider adoption of high productivity construction methods such as Modular Integrated Construction and Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing, as well as digital technology and new construction materials. The PSGO is also undertaking a review on measures to control costs of public works projects with a view to taking forward land supply and infrastructural development in an effective manner. The review will be completed within this year. read more