117. The cost of construction, including site formation and piling, of a seven-storey block containing 432 rooms each of 120 square feet, was taken as $780,000 or about $1,806 a room, and to this figure was added the sum of $230,000 for the site of 23,000 square feet, and $15,600 for supervision by the Public Works Department (2% of the cost of construction) making a total of $1,025,600 or $2,375 a room, On the basis of these figures and on the assumption that annually recurrent costs would amount to $17,200 for each block, the rent for each room was assessed at $13 a month, to which $1 a month was added for water.
118. The rent of the self-contained flats, the first block of which was completed in June 1957, was calculated on the same basis, with the addition of rates, which are included in the rents payable by the tenants and paid en bloc by the Department. These rents are $45 a month for a flat of 240 square feet and $65 a month for a flat of 360 square feet.
119. Ground floor rooms in the estates that are let as shops or work- shops are charged a commercial rent of $100 a month for a large shop of 240 square feet and $50 a month for one of 120 square feet. Rates are not payable. These rents were based on the estimated rental value of these premises but no distinction is made between different localities and all shop sites are charged the same rent.
120. The rents of units in the resettlement factory are calculated on a cost basis, as in the case of domestic rooms, but the capital cost includes the full upset price of the land, and is repayable in twenty one years with compound interest at 5%. Here again rates are included in the rent payable by tenants and are paid by the Department.
121.
These rents are subject to a periodic review, which takes into account variations in the cost of construction and of maintenance and administration. It has been found, for instance, that the cost of con- struction of the later estates particularly in site formation and piling, the recurrent administration expenses and cost of water supply, are materially higher than the 1954 estimate. However, the income from rents in the estates is also higher than was estimated because of the subsequent decision to allow the use of ground floor rooms as shops and workshops, at a higher rent, and it has not so far been necessary to revise the original rent figures.
122. The total capital expenditure on the multi-storey estates including buildings, site formation and piling and engineering works amounted to $113,574,564 for 114 resettlement blocks and 3 factories
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