LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
The Lands Administration Office was also involved in the resumption of land for implementation of urban renewal schemes carried out by the Land Development Corporation and the Hong Kong Housing Society. A special team has been set up to deal with the Land Development Corporation projects. Private streets continued to be resumed to facilitate their repair and maintenance by the government.
Land Disposal
All land in Hong Kong is held by the government, which sells or grants leasehold interests. Such grants and leases are made in accordance with the terms set out in Annex III to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong. They are normally made for terms expiring not later than June 30, 2047. They are made at premium and nominal rental until June 30, 1997, after which an annual rent equivalent to three per cent of the property's rateable value will apply.
The amount of new land to be sold or granted each year, excluding land vested in the Hong Kong Housing Authority for public rental housing, is determined by the Sino-British Land Commission. The land disposal limit for 1996-97 is 310.17 hectares. 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. In 1995/96, revenue from land disposal amounted to $44.88 billion.
A land sales programme is issued at the beginning of each financial year and updated regularly, showing the details of public auctions and tenders throughout the year. Although most government land available for private sector development is sold by public auction or tender, land is also made available at nominal premium to the Housing Authority for its public rental estates and Home Ownership Scheme, and to non-profit-making charitable, medical and educational institutions which operate schools, hospitals, and social welfare and other community services. During the year, three sites with a total area of 6.73 hectares, were sold under the Private Sector Participation Scheme. Sites granted to the Housing Authority for the development of Home Ownership Scheme projects amounted to 22.01 hectares. They included three sites comprising 10.52 hectares in Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long, four sites comprising 3.83 hectares in Kowloon East and a 2.08-hectare site in Tseung Kwan O.
Major land transactions included a five-hectare site in Hung Hom for a freight yard development for the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation; and a further five- hectare extension of the industrial estate at Tseung Kwan O.
Land Registration
Hong Kong operates a deeds registration system under the Land Registration Ordinance. The Land Registry is responsible for registering all documents affecting land. The Land Registry comprises the Urban Land Registry and eight New Territories Land Registries.
A land document is registered by delivering it to the appropriate land registry with a form containing the essential particulars of the document and the prescribed fee. These particulars are then entered into a register for the relevant piece of land or property.
Each land register provides a complete picture of all transactions affecting a property, from the grant of the government lease. The registers, memorials and
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