192
HOUSING
In Tseung Kwan O new town, not far from Kwun Tong, nearly 10000 flats were under construction.
In the longer term, the area currently known as Tiu Keng Leng will be cleared to form part of the Tseung Kwan O new town. A total of 53 hectares will be produced to provide homes for 86000 persons, half of them in public housing estates. The authority has agreed to undertake the site formation work for this area, including the necessary roads and infrastructure. Overall planning for the Tiu Keng Leng project has been completed and clearance will start next year, with completion of the first housing blocks expected in the year 2000.
=
Within the urban area, three sites will be developed for public housing on the West Kowloon Central Reclamation. The three separate sites, with a total area of seven hectares, will be developed comprehensively as a single project. The sites are constrained, however, by environmental factors and building height restrictions. Upon full development in 1999, they will house about 17000 people in 5 250 flats, including 2430 Home Ownership Scheme units.
The housing estate at Ma Hang Village, Stanley, in the southern part of Hong Kong, has been designed for development in three phases, with the aim of preserving and enhancing the characteristics of the original settlement and land form. The authority's proposals extend right to the shoreline, to the area around the Tin Hau temple, and will create an extension to the existing heart of Stanley. The focal point of this new development will be the rebuilt Murray House, which will be used as a commercial centre.
The housing projects in the new towns are generally on schedule.
The development plan for Tung Chung, the newest of the new towns, has been endorsed by the authority. Construction of public housing in Tung Chung will coincide with the work on Phase 1 of the North Lantau Development, which forms part of the new airport core projects. Up to 15000 people will be accommodated in public housing and 5000 people in private housing by late 1997.
Maintenance
Expenditure on maintenance and improvement works for the year amounted to $2.1 billion, representing an increase of 43 per cent over the previous year.
Several major improvement programmes were initiated during the year, including the refurbishment of 14900 vacant flats and the upgrading of some commercial centres, at a total cost of $100 million. New and higher standards of refurbishment were introduced.
The improvement programme covering the reinforcement and re-wiring of the elec- trical supply to older blocks is also continuing and $85.6 million worth of electrical reinforcement work was completed within 102 buildings before the summer peak electrical demand.
Every opportunity is taken to improve the general environment of existing estates, and a programme has started on the extensive environmental upgrading of middle-aged estates. The first estate to receive this treatment, valued at $20 million, was Fuk Loi Estate in Tsuen Wan. At the same time, 30 estates were being redecorated.
The comprehensive repair programme for older estates is continuing, with structural repairs being completed on 56 blocks during the year.
To overcome the debonding problem of mosaic tiles used as an external finish for high-rise buildings, a consultancy was appointed to determine suitable survey techniques