The Government today (November 29) announced details of the three pilot areas of large-scale land disposal in the Northern Metropolis.
 
      To expedite development of the Northern Metropolis, the Government actively leverages market forces and adopts diverse development modes. Apart from adopting the Enhanced Conventional New Town Approach under which landowners are allowed to participate in the development of new development areas through in-situ land exchanges, the Chief Executive announced in the 2024 Policy Address to adopt, on a pilot basis, a large-scale land disposal approach, under which sizable land parcels with commercial value and earmarked for provision of public facilities will be selected and granted to successful bidders for collective development. This approach enhances the participation of enterprises in important development for Hong Kong, and can speed up the development of the land parcels, at the same time reduce the financial outlay of the Government.
 
      The three pilot areas under large-scale land disposal are located in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, the Fanling North New Development Area and the San Tin Technopole, of about 12.5 hectares, 15.9 hectares and 18.6 hectares respectively. Each pilot area covers private residential, industry and public facility sites. Developers are required to carry out site formation and engineering infrastructure works for all the sites, retain the residential sites for development, and hand other sites back to the Government for management after constructing some public facilities such as roads and open space. The requirements on industry sites vary across the pilot areas, including the developers retaining certain site to construct and operate an enterprise and technology park building, requiring developers to construct an industry building and then hand it back to the Government, and some only requiring the developers to carry out site formation. One of the focus areas of the expression of interest exercise to be launched next month is to invite the market to put forward innovative and feasible suggestions, and to propose how developers could make good use of the large-scale land disposal approach to enable their in-depth and substantial participation in developing industry sites to promote industry development in the Northern Metropolis.
      
     A fact sheet of the three pilot areas has been uploaded onto the website of the Northern Metropolis (www.nm.gov.hk/en/northern-metropolis#s5). The Development Bureau had also introduced the pilot areas of large-scale land disposal to enterprises in today's Enterprise Participation in Northern Metropolis Development Event.
 
      The Government will launch a three-month exercise in December this year to invite interested parties to submit expressions of interest for the three pilot areas of large-scale land disposal, in order to finalise the tender details and conditions later. The Government targets to commence the tendering work for the three pilot areas progressively from 2025 to 2026.

     The Transport Department (TD) today (November 29) announced that a 17th batch of two projects has been approved by the Management Committee on Smart Traffic Fund, involving a total grant of around $7.3 million.

     The two approved projects in the latest batch cover (1) an on-demand red minibus service system and (2) combining the big data and real time data for parking garage vacancy prediction services. Details of the projects are available on the Fund's website (www.stf.hkpc.org).

     The Fund accepts applications throughout the year to provide funding support to local organisations and enterprises for conducting research and application of innovation and technology with the objectives of enhancing commuting convenience, enhancing efficiency of the road network or road space, and improving driving safety. All applications are considered and assessed in batches by the Management Committee, which is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner for Transport (Planning and Technical Services) and comprises representatives from the Government, experts in the industry and relevant stakeholders.

     The TD appeals to interested organisations and enterprises for participation to help make the Fund a success, and to build Hong Kong into a more liveable and sustainable city by driving Hong Kong toward a new era of transportation.
 
     Application details are available on the Fund's website. For enquiries, please contact the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Secretariat of the Fund, on 2788 5536 or stf_sec@hkpc.org.

     Police today (November 29) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Western District.

     Lo Yiu-man, aged 64, went missing after he was last seen in a hospital on Pok Fu Lam Road yesterday (November 28) afternoon. His family then made a report to Police.
         
     He is about 1.64 metres tall, 72 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a square face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a green polo shirt, a dark brown jacket, dark brown camouflage trousers and white sports shoes with gray stripes.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034 or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

    

     â€‹Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced that Japanese handcrafted eyewear brand, Kaneko Optical, will open its first directly managed store in Hong Kong tomorrow (November 30), offering high-end Japanese craftsmanship and genuine handmade eyewear to customers in the city.
      
     Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion Mr Arnold Lau welcomed the opening of Kaneko Optical's first store in Hong Kong. He said, "It offers not only a premium choice of eyewear for local customers, but also shows the attraction of Hong Kong as a global hub for international brands. We look forward to supporting Kaneko Optical and wish it every success in Hong Kong."
      
     Located in the heart of Central Hong Kong, Kaneko Optical offers handcrafted eyewear produced at the brand's factories in Japan, along with optical services. Its Chief Executive Officer of Japan Eyewear Holdings Hong Kong and Japan Eyewear Holdings International, and Global Strategy Officer of Kaneko Optical, Mr Toru Akita, said, "We already have a number of wholesalers in Hong Kong who sell our glasses. Many customers from Hong Kong already know our brand and visit our shops in Japan. Many of them have requested that we open a directly managed shop in Hong Kong."
      
     He added, "We want to make good use of our Hong Kong shop to enhance our brand image in the city and offer better service to local customers, where they can enjoy our maintenance, repair and eyeglass consultation with peace of mind after purchase."
      
     Founded in 1958 as an eyeglass wholesaler, Kaneko Optical has become a recognised trendsetter in the Japanese eyewear industry. With its own planning, design, and sales of eyewear brands, it actively collaborates with major collections and apparel manufacturers to create original brands.
      
     For more information about Kaneko Optical, please visit www.kaneko-optical.co.jp/en/.
      
     To get a copy of the photos, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72177720322198241.

    

     â€‹The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (November 29) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 6 500 food samples tested were found to be satisfactory except for five unsatisfactory samples which were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.

     A CFS spokesman said about 2 500 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, and about 4 000 samples were taken for chemical and radiation level tests.

     The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygiene indicators; the chemical tests included testing for pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others; and the radiation level tests included testing for radioactive caesium and iodine in samples collected from imported food from different regions.

     The samples comprised about 1 700 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 400 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 900 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 1 300 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 600 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 1 600 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).

     The five unsatisfactory samples comprised an imported frozen shrimp sample with an excessive metallic contaminant; a choi sum sample detected with a pesticide residue at a level exceeding the legal limit, and three imported clotted cream samples detected with total bacterial counts exceeding the legal limit.

     The CFS has taken follow-up actions on the above-mentioned unsatisfactory samples including informing the vendors concerned of the test results, instructing them to stop selling the affected food items and tracing the sources of the food items in question.

     The spokesman reminded the food trade to ensure that food is fit for human consumption and meets legal requirements. Consumers should patronise reliable shops when buying food and maintain a balanced diet to minimise food risks.

     Separately, in response to the Japanese Government's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the CFS will continue enhancing the testing on imported Japanese food, and make reference to the risk assessment results to adjust relevant surveillance work in a timely manner. The CFS will announce every working day on its dedicated webpage (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/daily_japan_nuclear_incidents.html) the radiological test results of the samples of food imported from Japan, with a view to enabling the trade and members of the public to have a better grasp of the latest safety information.