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HOUSING
Several piling contracts were completed in Tin Shui Wai, including Tin Yiu Phases 2 and 3 and Tin Shui Phases 2 and 4. The former phases are designed to provide 4 494 rental flats, and the latter 4 397 rental flats. In all, 10 593 rental and 1 824 rental/HOS flats have been planned for this new town in 1992, and 5 749 rental and 1 216 rental/HOS flats in 1993.
In Tseung Kwan O, King Lam Phases 1, 2 and 3 were completed, producing a total of 3 643 rental flats; King Lam Phase 4, with 1 517 rental flats, is still under construction. Another 2 566 HOS flats have been completed in Yan Ming Court and Ho Ming Court. Construction works in Hau Tak Estate Phases 1 and 2 have just begun, and 2 692 rental flats will be produced in these two phases upon completion in 1993.
For the outlying islands, the proposed rural public housing projects at Cheung Chau and Peng Chau are in their planning stage. Piling work for Lung Tin Phase 2 has already started.
Redevelopment
In 1972, a redevelopment programme was launched to improve the living environment of some 84 000 families in the 12 Mark I and II estates, comprising 240 blocks, which had been built between 1954 and 1964 to house victims of natural disasters and squatters displaced by development clearances.
These estates provided only basic accommodation with community and social facilities - which were not up to the present standard.
In 1983, the government decided to step up the redevelopment programme, so that by 1990-91 the living conditions of all the remaining Mark I-II estate tenants could be improved.
During 1990, 42 old blocks were evacuated to make way for new buildings, leaving 18 Mark I-II blocks to be redeveloped by 1991.
The government's Long Term Housing Strategy envisaged the need to extend the redeve- lopment programme from Mark I-II estates to all Mark III-VI and former government low-cost housing estates, to improve the living environment in these estates. The current five-year rolling redevelopment programme for 1990-91 to 1994–95, involving 231 blocks accommodating 65 000 families, was made public in May. The affected tenants will be formally notified 18 to 24 months before the clearance dates.
Maintenance
During the year, the authority was responsible for maintaining 144 rental estates and 57 Home Ownership Scheme courts, and other properties, such as temporary housing areas and communal facilities.
With some 4 500 buildings in its care, more than half of them over 15 years old, the authority spent $1,000 million on maintenance and improvement works, representing 20 per cent of the estate working account expenditure. In planning the maintenance programmes, it takes into account the life expectancy of a building, so as to maximise cost effectiveness.
As the objective of maintaining the properties in a safe, habitable and serviceable condition has been largely achieved, the authority has been placing greater emphasis on improving the environment and communal facilities. About 19 per cent of the maintenance budget for the year was allocated to improvement programmes.