12
REGISTRATION LIMIT ON TAXIS EXTENDED
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THE PERIOD LIMITING THE NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLES WHICH MAY BE REGISTERED AS URBAN OR NEW TERRITORIES TAXIS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO JULY 31, 1982.
SEEKING LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL APPROVAL FOR THE EXTENSION, THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, THE HON ALAN SCOTT SAID THIS WOULD PERMIT URBAN TAXI LICENCES TO CONTINUE TO BE ISSUED AT THE RATE OF 100 PER MONTH AND NEW TERRITORIES TAXI LICENCES AT THE RATE OF 50 A MONTH.
THE CURRENT SPECIFIED MAXIMUM NUMBER FOR URBAN TAXIS IS 12 000, AND 3 000 FOR NEW TERRITORIES TAXIS.
CROWN LAND AUCTIONS
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THE SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS, MR D.W. MCDONALD, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY THAT WHEN CROWN LAND ATTRACTED NO BIDS AT AUCTION, THE NORMAL PRACTICE WAS TO WITHDRAW IT, REFER IT TO THE LAND AGENTS FOR REASSESSMENT, AND PUT IT UP FOR SALE AGAIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
HE WAS REPLYING TO A QUESTION FROM THE HON MARIA TAM ABOUT RESERVE PRICES FOR CROWN LAND, FOLLOWING THE WITHDRAWAL OF FOUR PIECES OF LAND FROM A RECENT PUBLIC AUCTION.
MR MCDONALD SAID THAT TO DETERMINE THE RESERVE PRICE OR STARTING PRICE - THE LAND AGENTS FIRST ASSESSED THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE OF THE SITE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT RECENT SALES OF COMPARABLE SITES BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND GENERAL TRENDS IN THE LAND MARKET.
+THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS IS, OF COURSE, MUCH SIMPLER IN A RISING OR STEADY MARKET THAN IT IS WHEN THE MARKET IS FALLING, PARTICULARLY IF IT IS FALLING UNEVENLY OR ERATICALLY,+ HE SAID,
FOR RECENT SALES, STARTING PRICES HAD BEEN SET SOME 10 TO 30 PER CENT BELOW ESTIMATED LAND VALUES. IN THE CASE OF THE NEW TERRITORIES AUCTIONS MISS TAM HAD REFERRED TO, WHEN FOUR OUT OF SEVEN LOTS ATTRACTED NO BIDS, THE REDUCTIONS HAD BEEN 30 TC 40 PER CENT.
+THE RESULTS OF THOSE AUCTIONS SUGGEST A CURRENT LACK OF INTEREST IN INDUSTRIAL LAND IN THE NEW TERRITORIES AND IN THE MORE REMOTE PRSIDENTIAL SITES, ALTHOUGH IT IS PERHAPS CIGNIFICANT THAT FIVE PARTIES HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY SHOWN INTEREST IN PURCHASING ONE OF THE WITHDRAWN RESIDENTIAL SITES,+ MR MCDONALD AID.