4.30
The maintenance and minor improvements of Services establishments is co-ordinated by a Senior Maintenance Surveyor and again is divided into three areas, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territories and administered by three maintenance surveyors assisted by depot technical officers each working from a depot situated in his area, with a supporting supervisory staff of clerks of
At the end of the year works and foremen, together with clerical staff. arrangements were in hand to create a fourth depot to deal with R.N. and R.A.F. establishments.
Direct labour is employed in the execution of some of the work on Services establishments. The Branch is also responsible for roads, water supplies, sewage disposal and playing fields within military areas.
4.31 Scheduled maintenance programmes were carried out on Government buildings and leased buildings and day-to-day maintenance of buildings and redecoration of quarters was carried out as necessary. Total expenditure on this work amounted to $32,587,000. Similar work was carried out on Services establishments and the portion carried out by contract amounted to $20,295,000.
4.32 A total of 154 major and approximately 1,200 minor items of alterations, additions or improvements to Government buildings were executed at a cost of $3,117,000. Work of a similar nature carried out in Services establishments amounted to $4,713,000.
4.33
Works were executed by three triennial building maintenance contracts, twenty-four annual/triennial specialist contracts and seven triennial cleaning contracts, 14 of which were let during the year.
4.34
Other items of work undertaken by the Maintenance Branch included minor security and defence works and items for other departments ordered on the Maintenance Contracts. Surveys and reports were made on several properties acquired by Government on lease.
4.35
Regular inspections were made, by the building supervisor and his staff, of those offices and non-departmental quarters for whose cleaning and general management the Maintenance Branch is responsible. During the year approval was given to recruit 125 watchmen to patrol blocks of Government quarters. Recruitment and training is being carried out.
4.36
Recruitment has been easier than in recent years in most grades, particularly as regards professional officers. There remained, however, approximately 20% vacancies in the Clerk of Works/Foremen grades and maintenance work continues to be undersupervised.
NEW WORKS
4.37
The following paragraphs briefly describe some of the Architectural Office projects which were completed or which were under construction during the year. Full lists of such projects costing more than $50,000.00 each are given at Appendices K and L respectively. Consultants who were engaged on certain projects are listed at Appendix M.
Airport
Fitting out of the V.I.P. suite was substantially completed in September 1973.
4.38
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