5.03 In April the Principal Government Building Surveyor and the Government Structural Engineer attended, by invitation, the Cairo Regional Conference on Low-Income Housing sponsored by the Joint Committee on Tall Buildings.
5.04 The P.W.D./Authorised Persons' and Registered Structural Engineers' Liaison Group, comprising representatives from the Buildings Ordinance Office, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Institute of Structural Engineers (Hong Kong Branch), the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Hong Kong Branch) serves as a useful link between Government and Authorised Persons and Registered Structural Engineers in private practice. Several meetings of the Liaison Group were convened during the year, metrication, B.O.O. procedures and the lighting and ventilation of buildings being the principal topics.
5.05 The Office maintained, in conjunction with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, two separate but related organisations to provide a service to the public in the event of emergencies arising from building collapses, fire, landslips etc. One organization provides professional staff on an around-the-clock basis whereby the duty officer can be called to an emergency at short notice, usually in response to a radio paging device. The second organization is set up during typhoons, or when there are excessive rains, whereby professional officers are available on a shift basis to attend to reports of damage or danger to private buildings.
5.06 A resolution on the 16th July 1975 by the Legislative Council under Section 5 of the Temporary Restriction of Building Development (Mid-Levels) Ordinance extended the expiry date of that Ordinance to 31st July 1977, thereby preventing building development in a portion of the Mid-Levels area for a further period of two years until problems related to inadequate traffic facilities are resolved.
5.07 During the period under review three Registered Contractors were dealt with by Disciplinary Boards appointed under Section 11 of the Buildings Ordinance.
5.08 In connection with disciplinary action against contractors, one Authorised Person was prosecuted and one other was dealt with by a Disciplinary Board appointed under Section 7 of the Buildings Ordinance.
5.09 Building owners were prosecuted in three separate cases under Section 40 of the Buildings Ordinance for carrying out building alterations and additions without the approval of the Building Authority.
HEAD OFFICE
5.10 This Office is under the direction of the Principal Government Building Surveyor who is mainly concerned with the administration of policy and the overall supervision of the Office and is aided by the Government
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