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LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
The new Fire Services Headquarters and Tsim Sha Tsui East Sub-divisional Fire Station complex was finished at the end of the year. Fire stations were also built in Sai Wan Ho and Tai O.
Planning for the stage five extensions to Hong Kong International Airport reached an advanced stage. A start was made on the associated reprovisioning work and on a transport terminus. Completion of these facilities is scheduled for mid-1987.
Two cultural complexes in the New Territories, in Sha Tin and Tuen Mun, are under construction with both due to be completed in early 1986. These schemes are based on the same design as that of Tsuen Wan Town Hall but with improvements in the staging and ancillary facilities. Work on the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre, an extensive waterfront development, began late in the year and is scheduled for completion in late 1987. The centre's facilities will include a 2 300-seat concert hall and a 1 900-seat theatre. A Museum of Art will be built adjacent to the cultural centre.
Construction of the Ngau Chi Wan Urban Council Complex is underway, with the market part of the project due for completion in mid-1985. The rest of the project housing community facilities is expected to be ready a year later.
To mark the Urban Council's 100th anniversary in 1983, a Centenary Garden was built in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui East. This garden is part of the landscaping of 10 adjoining sites, which form a network of pedestrian plazas, malls, parks and playgrounds.
A standard swimming pool complex in Lai Chi Kok was completed in May. An Olympic size pool for competitive training was provided at the Wan Chai Reclamation Recreation Centre, marking the end of phase one of that project. Work then began on phase two, which includes an indoor games hall with squash courts below it.
Conversion work on Flagstaff House in Victoria Barracks, the former residence of the Commander British Forces, was completed in February. The building now houses a Tea Ware Museum managed by the Urban Council.
Private Building
Private building development continued to be depressed as a result of socio-economic conditions. The general lack of interest in property investment was evidenced by a steady decline in building plan submissions.
During the year, 540 proposals for private building development were submitted to the Buildings Ordinance Office for approval. The usable floor area of building projects for which consent to start work was given totalled 2 259 692 square metres, which represented a decrease of 47 per cent compared with 1983. New buildings projected or approved included the proposed Bank of China Building on the old Murray Barracks site in Central, multi-storey extensions to the Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan and the Caritas Medical Centre in Lai Chi Kok, the Kornhill development opposite Tai Koo Shing and the comprehensive redevelopment of Whampoa Dockyard. Construction works on other major projects, including the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's new headquarters and the second grandstand at Sha Tin Racecourse for the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, proceeded at a rapid pace.
Building projects completed during the year were valued at $6,942 million, excluding land values, and 485 occupation permits were issued. These provided a total usable floor area of 1 926 898 square metres, a decrease of 37 per cent on the previous year. Projects nearing completion by the end of the year were Exchange Square, which will house the new unified stock exchange, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Projects completed included the redevelopment of Ocean Park, the Hong Kong Club building, the