Also, 83 buildings were evaluated. Of them 54 were graded, bringing the number of graded buildings to 384.
The Government's protection of historical buildings and structures did not end upon their being declared as monuments, Mr So said.
"To preserve them for the enjoyment and appreciation of the community, proper maintenance and restoration of these items are of equal importance," he said.
In archaeology, port and airport development and other construction programmes prompted major excavations which helped "to increase significantly our knowledge of prehistoric activities in the Hong Kong region", Mr So said.
He said: "It has been heartening to see that funding of many of these excavation projects came from the developers of the sites in question, signifying that heritage preservation is gaining more recognition and more support from the private sector."
All these efforts, however, would have been in vain if heritage preservation remained an academic pursuit or was only of interest to a handful of scholars, Mr So said.
The Recreation and Culture Branch organised a series of programmes last year to promote awareness of the local heritage among the public, and in particular among young people.
Seminars, workshops, field studies, lectures and voluntary services such as maintenance of historic sites and processing of archaeological finds were frequently held for youth groups and students.
In addition, a 13-episode weekly television programme on Hong Kong's heritage has begun showing on TVB's Jade Channel, a learning package on local history for junior secondary students prepared by the Curriculum Studies Department of the University of Hong Kong and booklets and exhibitions on local heritage were produced.
The Ping Shan Heritage Trail, opened in December 1993 and the first of its kind in Hong Kong, has attracted more than 320,000 visitors.
Mr So also disclosed that a major international conference on the archaeological heritage was being organised by the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong to be held between March 9 and 13 this year involving archaeologists from Southeast Asia, China, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.