LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
230
The office has embarked on a pilot scheme to contract out to private solicitors the title-checking work of land to be surrendered so as to speed up the processing of exchange cases. The office has also continued to contract out the processing of some applications for approval of Deeds of Mutual Covenant.
Survey and Mapping
The Survey and Mapping Office (SMO) is responsible for providing land survey services and mapping products to both the public and private sectors.
The office produces a large variety of map products which include 1:1 000 Basic Maps, Topographical Maps at various scales, Countryside Maps, Street/Place Guide Maps and a number of thematic maps. These maps, apart from serving different government departments, are available for sale to the public.
Apart from paper map products, the SMO also continuously updates a digital map database covering the whole region of Hong Kong. The database not only forms the basis for city planning, land management, engineering works, administration and security activities, it also provides potential for the SMO and users to develop more new products and applications. An example is the 'Community Map on Internet' project. In this project, two business partners make use of the digital maps developed by the office as the basis to show the locations of places of interest and community facilities, and this information can easily and freely be accessible via the Internet. Another example of a digital map product developed by one value-added-reseller is the 'ES Map' which makes use of the digital maps supplied by the office and applies the geographical information technology and Global Positioning System (GPS) technique for the development of an intelligent navigation system. Another commercially developed product is the 'SmartMap'. It is a fast and easy-to-use package on CD-ROM, which uses the digital maps as a base for showing the locations and details of various places of interest, such as restaurants, hotels, cinemas, shops, scenic spots, country parks, schools and hospitals.
The production of the digital maps offers opportunities for business development, and the SMO encourages the business sector to exploit these. It will continue to enhance the quality and content of the database.
The SMO is also responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the geodetic network in Hong Kong that provides the essential reference points for all types of land and engineering survey activities. With the proven applications of the GPS technology for various types of survey work, the office has taken the initiative to establish a Territorial Continuous Global Positioning System Array (TCGPSA) for Hong Kong. The system will provide data that would enable positioning measurements to achieve a high degree of accuracy. The contract for the first phase of the TCGPSA was awarded in early 2000 and includes setting up six GPS permanent reference stations in the north-western New Territories. It is expected the system will become operational in the first quarter of 2001. The second phase of the project, which includes setting up of another seven or eight GPS reference stations to cover the rest of the HKSAR, is expected to be implemented in 2001-02. When fully operational, the system will modernise many of the land and engineering survey operations thereby generating substantial savings in the costs of manpower resources and equipment as well as in operation time.