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Planning, Land and Infrastructure
infrastructure provisions required and the scope for developing a new town. The findings will provide input to the consideration of long-term spatial development in the Hong Kong
context.
Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) Island of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge The Planning Department and the CEDD jointly commissioned a planning, engineering and architectural study in January 2015 to explore the optimum utilisation of land at the HKBCF Island for aboveground and underground commercial development and other economic uses. The study will recommend an overall development concept and formulate suitable development parameters. Having completed the first stage of public engagement, the government is formulating more detailed proposals for further consultation with the public.
Urban Renewal
Urban renewal addresses the problem of urban decay and improves living conditions in old urban areas while preserving buildings of historical, cultural or architectural value, and mitigates the potential social impact as far as practicable. The Development Bureau formulates policy on urban renewal and oversees the work of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), a statutory body established to undertake urban renewal.
Under the 2011 Urban Renewal Strategy, the URA may respond to a joint approach from building owners to initiate redevelopment of their buildings through a demand-led scheme. As at 31 December 2015, the URA had commenced and implemented nine such redevelopment projects. Apart from the demand-led scheme, the URA may also help owners assemble titles for joint sale of their properties for redevelopment under a facilitation scheme. As at 31 December 2015, one application was successfully auctioned for joint sale under the facilitation scheme.
The government is considering measures to facilitate the implementation of proposals made in an Urban Renewal Plan for Kowloon City, which the Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum submitted in January 2014.
The $500 million independent Urban Renewal Trust Fund endowed by the URA provides funding support to social service teams rendering assistance to residents affected by URA redevelopment projects. The fund's Urban Renewal Heritage Preservation and District Revitalisation Funding Scheme, launched in 2012, had approved seven projects proposed by the community.
Industrial Land
The Planning Department completed the 2014 Area Assessments of Industrial Land in the Territory in August 2015. The purpose was to obtain an updated overview and conduct a trend analysis of privately owned industrial buildings in traditional industrial areas in terms of their usage by key industries, and to consider future planning of industrial land with the objective of meeting changing needs and optimising the use of land resources. Based on the assessment findings and observations, it was considered that there was a continued genuine need for industrial floorspace to conduct a wide range of economic activities and hence the 'Industrial' zone should be retained in different parts of the territory to achieve a better balance in the distribution of population and employment. As such, the 2014 Area Assessments
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