LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
always be made. During the year, 2 604 294 such public land searches were made and 673 400 instruments registered throughout the territory, compared with 2 470 614 and 602 529 respectively in 1989. At the end of the year, there were 1 320 271 property owners, an increase of 107 271 over the previous year.
Work on the computerisation of information on the Victoria Land Office register cards, with a view to introducing a computerised land registration system, continued during the year. Conversion to computerised data began in November 1986 and this exercise is expected to be completed by September 1991. The existing computer will be replaced by a more powerful one early in 1991 to provide for greater capacity and possible extension of a computerised registration system to the New Territories.
The Conveyancing and Legal Advisory Section of the Land Division provides pro- fessional legal services to the government for all government land transactions and associated matters. It is responsible for the issue, renewal, variation and termination of government leases as well as the drafting, completion and registration of conditions of sale, grants and exchanges of government lands, registration of owners' corporations, the apportionment of government rents and premia and the recovery of outstanding rents. It also provides conveyancing services for the Housing Authority in connection with the sale of flats built under the Home Ownership Scheme and for the Financial Secretary Incorporated in connection with the extension of non-renewable government leases, the purchase and sale of government accommodation in private developments, mortgages to secure interest-free loans to private schools, the purchase of properties for government staff quarters and group housing schemes for the elderly.
Land Registration statistics are at Appendix 34.
Survey and Mapping
The Survey and Mapping Office is responsible for defining and recording land boundaries of all existing and new land developments, providing and maintaining the territory-wide survey control system, mapping the territory at various scales for land administration, engineering and government purposes, managing land information and preserving the territory's land records.
Geodetic control systems, which are horizontal and vertical control networks covering the whole territory, have been established and maintained to a high degree of accuracy. These systems provide the necessary origin and control points for cadastral (property boundary), topographical mapping, engineering and other surveys.
Cadastral surveying is an important function of the office, serving both the public and the government by defining property boundaries. The office maintains a comprehen- sive graphical record of all leasehold and government land boundaries in the territory. Landowners may apply to re-establish private lot boundaries for redevelopment purposes for a fee.
The wide range of mapping coverage maintained by the office has always provided an important support service in the administration, planning and development of Hong Kong. The most definitive series of maps and the foundation of all other mapping is the large scale (1:1 000) basic topographical series (3 000 sheets). Smaller scale coverage starts at 1:5 000 (160 sheets) followed by coloured maps at scales 1:20 000 (16 sheets), 1:50 000 (two sheets), and down to single sheet coverage at 1:100 000 and 1:200 000. Two monochrome street map series at 1:10 000 and 1:15 000 of the urban areas in Hong Kong, Kowloon and
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