70. At 31st March, 1959, 555 flats out of a total of 636 had been let. There were many more refusals of offers than anticipated, and more than 2,500 applicants were invited to indicate their interest in tenancies. The reasons for refusal were extremely varied, ranging from difficulty of obtaining schooling in the neighbourhood, to dislike of the site. Lettings were also affected to some extent by offensive smells emanating from the nearby slaughter-house.
71. The capital cost of the scheme, excluding site formation, is estimated at $7,875,000. The rental income from the 636 flats on the estate will amount to just over $850,000 per annum.
SO UK ESTATE
(Consortium of Architects, consisting of Mr. Eric Cumine, as Chairman-architect, and Messrs. Chau & Lee, Messrs. Leigh & Orange, Mr. H. S. Luke, and Mr. W. Szeto)
72. The Authority's third scheme, its most ambitious so far, was described in some detail in last year's report. It envisages the construc- tion of 5,300 flats in 8, 12 and 16-storey blocks with an estimated population of about 32,300 people, at a total cost of over $50,000,000. The estate will also contain two 18-classroom primary schools, an assembly hall, about thirty shops, and an estate office. The site covers about 18.79 acres and will have a gross density of 1,554 persons to the acre. It was decided to adopt the name of 'So Uk Estate' (MA) for this scheme. Names for the various blocks and internal roads have not yet been chosen. A view of the site appears in Fig. 8.
73. Site formation, at first satisfactory, made very slow progress later in the year due to contractual difficulties. 214,500 cu. yds. of earth and 28,700 cu. yds. of rock were excavated and 165,000 cu. yds. of filling carried out. The Public Works Department was asked to proceed with the installation of sewers, drains, water supplies, and the construction of internal roads (all at the Authority's expense). Re- alignment of the 18" water-main running across the site and removal of the disconnected main was completed by the Public Works Depart- ment at a cost of $158,378.10, paid by the Authority. It was decided to take a salt-water flushing supply from the Government main (to be constructed for adjacent resettlement estates) rather than construct a private system. The cost of water from the main is not expected to exceed 50 cents per 1,000 gallons.
74. The sewer running along Po On Road was completed by Messrs. Tak Hing Co. The total value of this contract, let by the Public Works
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