LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
191
urban areas. To complement the activities of the LDC, a special team was set up in the Buildings and Lands Department to co-ordinate urban renewal projects, to prepare briefs for guiding redevelopment and to assess the redevelopment schemes proposed by the corporation.
Government's planning and development machinery for the rural areas will also probably require reorganisation to meet the demands for Rural Improvement and Planning Strategy. But perhaps more important is the review of the 1939 Town Planning Ordinance or updating Hong Kong's town planning legislation to cope with modern planning needs including those of the rural areas. The aim is to finalise proposals for new legislation in 1989.
Water
Discussion with the Guangdong Authority on the supply of water to Hong Kong beyond 1994-5 started in late 1988. Agreement was also reached during the year to increase the reliable yield of water supply for Hong Kong to 99 per cent from 1989-90 to 1994-5. This requires the purchase of an additional 40 million cubic metres of water annually.
Professional Registration
Legislation to provide for professional registration of architects, engineers, surveyors and planners is being prepared and is expected to be introduced into the Legislative Council in mid-1989.
Land Administration
The Land Administration Office of the Buildings and Lands Department co-ordinates all aspects of land administration throughout the territory. In addition to its headquarters, the department has 14 District Lands Offices: three on Hong Kong Island, two in Kowloon and nine in the New Territories. District Lands Officers are responsible for most aspects of land administration and land disposal, while the headquarters formulates territory-wide policy and gives guidance on more complex matters.
Land Supply
All land in Hong Kong is held by the government, which sells or grants leasehold interests. Land grants and leases throughout the territory are now made in accordance with the terms set out in Annex III to the Joint Declaration. The total amount of new land to be granted is limited to 50 hectares a year (excluding land to be granted to the Hong Kong Housing Authority for public rental housing), although the Land Commission may increase this limit. Premium income obtained from land transactions is, after deduction of the average cost of land production, shared equally between the Hong Kong Government and the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
Normal land grants and leases are now made for terms expiring not later than June 30, 2047. They are made at a premium and nominal rental until June 30, 1997, after which date an annual rent equivalent to three per cent of the property's rateable value will apply.
The first priority with regard to land supply is to make available sufficient land for the government's development programmes, including the public housing programme. Land for the Hong Kong Housing Authority's public rental estates is provided free by the government, as is land for the residential element of the authority's Home Ownership Scheme. Land for the rental estates constructed by the Hong Kong Housing Society, a non-profit-making body with aims similar to those of the Housing Authority, is provided on concessionary terms. Land is also granted by private treaty, at nominal or concessionary premium, to non-profit-making charitable institutions which operate schools, hospitals, and social welfare and other community services in accordance with the government's policy objectives.