HOUSING AND LAND
91
borrowed for construction. However, under the new arrangements, the authority's outstanding debts to the government were converted into a straight government con- tribution assessed conservatively at more than $5,000 million. In future, for the rented housing programme, land will be provided to the authority free of premium, and drawings from the Development Loan Fund for new constructions will be repaid over 40 years interest-free. On the other hand, the grants paid by the government to cover the recurrent deficits on the old resettlement estates have been withdrawn.
New Estates
During 1977, the Housing Department considerably expanded its construction staff and some 13 new architects were recruited - many from abroad. Some 45 piling site formation and building contracts were let, compared with a total of 25 in 1976.
During the year, six new public housing estates were opened, bringing the number under the management of the Housing Authority to 64 with 371,000 flats.
Lai Yiu Estate in Tsuen Wan was opened in early January and building work was fully completed in August. It will house some 16,200 people in 2,411 flats. The three twin-tower blocks and one slab block of two-bedroom flats are built on a commanding site of 13.9 hectares above the Kwai Chung Valley, making this the least dense of all Housing Authority estates. Community facilities include two primary schools, two secondary schools and kindergartens. A centrally-situated commercial centre includes a market, shops, banks and three floors of parking, with restaurants at first-floor level. Residents can admire the view from a terrace in front of the complex.
The first phase of Cheung Ching Estate - the first on Tsing Yi Island, near Tsuen Wan - was completed in April. This phase comprises 3,039 self-contained flats in four twin-tower blocks and one slab block of two-bedroom flats for a population of some 19,500, and includes a local shopping centre with a market, a restaurant and car parking. Further contracts were let during the year, but a considerable amount of site formation and building remains to be done. When the whole estate is completed in 1981, it will house some 56,000 people in 12,000 flats.
Yue Wan Estate, the ninth public housing estate on Hong Kong Island, was opened in May, offering a total of 878 self-contained domestic flats in its first phase of con- struction. The entire estate, when fully developed in mid-1978, will house about 13,100 people in 2,220 flats built in three seven-storey blocks and one 22-storey building. As well as the usual shops, a free-standing community hall is a feature of this estate. The first phase of Nam Shan Estate in Kowloon, comprising 880 flats in three domestic blocks of 12 storeys, was opened in July. This estate is intended to be the first stage of the redevelopment of the old Mark I Tai Hang Tung Estate, with a population of some 32,000. About 3,333 square metres of shopping space, eight cooked-food pavilions, a market and separate car parking are included in this first phase.
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Building work for Wo Che Estate in Sha Tin is divided into four phases of which the first totalling 2,169 flats in three twin-tower blocks was opened in July. These flats vary from 32 to 39 square metres and are let at monthly rentals ranging from $285 to $345. A feature of this estate is the provision of pedestrian bridges and decks linking all the domestic blocks to the central shopping centre and commercial com- plex, thus providing maximum safety and convenience for residents. Other facilities