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HOUSING AND LAND
trends. An up-to-date schedule of all existing statutory outline zoning plans, depart- mental outline development plans and layout plans is issued half-yearly to other government departments, utility companies and certain non-government organisations for their information.
Private Building
The boom conditions in the real estate industry generated in 1977 resulted in a sustain- ed high level of building activity in 1978, particularly in the domestic sector. Easy loan repayment terms at low interest rates stimulated demand for small-sized domestic units for both personal use and letting. The total usable domestic floor area provided in new buildings was 946,000 square metres; some 214,000 square metres more than in 1977. Ever-increasing land prices tended to put the small speculative developer at a disadvantage and a high proportion of development was carried out by large com- panies and consortia. Building projects tended towards a grander scale and com- plexity than those of recent years, and the task of scrutinising plans submitted to the Building Authority for approval became more exacting. In a number of submissions, computer calculations were used by registered structural engineers for the analysis of structures and the design of tall buildings. This made it necessary for the staff of the Buildings Ordinance Office to utilise a computer for checking computer-aided plan submissions. The total reported cost of new private buildings at the end of the year amounted to $3,022 million, an increase of 24 per cent over the previous year.
Several notable projects were under construction during the year. These included Chi Fu Fa Yuen, a high-rise residential complex at Pok Fu Lam, complete with in- tegrated commercial, transport, community and recreational facilities, which will ultimately house some 30,000 people; Causeway Centre, a 42-storey building on the waterfront at Wan Chai which, when completed, will be the tallest residential building in Hong Kong; and Fairview Park, located north of Yuen Long in the New Terri- tories, a large-scale project consisting of some 5,000 semi-detached houses with a town centre built around an artificial lake. Fairview Park is of particular interest in that most of houses are to be of pre-cast concrete construction, with components fabricated on site in a large workshop.
Perhaps the completed project that attracted the most attention during the year was Stage I of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club's new racecourse at Sha Tin. The site of more than 100 hectares was reclaimed from the sea and the project comprises tracks for racing and training, stabling for 500 horses, a grandstand to accommodate 30,000 people, quarters for staff, an administration block and ancillary facilities.
Hotel schemes were very much in evidence; some 2,000 hotel rooms were under construction and a further 2,000 were in the planning stage. Other specialist projects being built included two ship-repairing yards on Tsing Yi Island.
The Temporary Restriction of Building Development (Mid-Levels) Ordinance expired on April 30, 1978, enabling the Building Authority to recommence processing applications relating to new buildings in the Mid-Levels area, for the first time since July 4, 1973. The Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 1978 extended the definition of 'building' in the principal ordinance to include 'oil storage installation'. The Building (Oil Storage Installations) Regulations 1978 came into effect on May 1, 1978, with the object of minimising the risk of environmental pollution by regulating the design,