XN000022-1991-11-23 — Page 3

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1991

"I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF OUR CIVIL SERVANTS GOING ON VISITS CHINA; GETTING TO KNOW PEOPLE IN CHINA; UNDERSTAND HOW CHINA OPERATES," HE SAID.

TO

"I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE PEOPLE COMING HERE FROM CHINA; WE'RE HAVING SEVERAL VISITS, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I HOPE WE'LL HAVE MORE IN FUTURE; TO BUILD UP A HIGHER DEGREE OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES. I THINK THAT'S THE SORT OF BASIC POINT ON BUILDING UP CONNECTIONS BETWEEN HERE AND CHINA,' SIR DAVID ADDED.

MANY DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS SPOTTED

* * * * *

THE DANGEROUS BUILDINGS SECTION OF THE BUILDINGS ORDINANCE OFFICE (BOO) OF THE BUILDINGS AND LANDS DEPARTMENT HAS RECENTLY COMPLETED AN EXERCISE IN IDENTIFYING AND INSPECTING THE CONDITION OF ALL PRE-WAR PRIVATE SECTOR BUILDINGS IN THE URBAN AREAS OF HONG KONG AND KOWLOON INCLUDING THE BUILT-UP AREAS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES.

THE EXERCISE HAS RESULTED IN ABOUT 1,700 PRE-WAR BUILDINGS BEING IDENTIFIED OF WHICH 34 HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF CLOSURE AND DEMOLITION ORDERS, AND OWNERS OF SOME 472 BUILDINGS SERVED WITH REPAIR ORDER SO FAR.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE OFFICE SAID TODAY (SATURDAY) THAT THESE PRE-WAR BUILDINGS HAD BEEN CLASSIFIED AS PRIORITY FOR INSPECTION LATE LAST YEAR, AND ARE MAINLY SITUATED IN THE OLD DISTRICTS SUCH AS CENTRAL AND WESTERN, WAN CHAI, YAU MA TEI AND SHAM SHUI PO WITH SOME OF THEM HAVING BEEN BUILT BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

IN ADDITION, A SURVEY OF THE URBAN AREAS OF HONG KONG KOWLOON INCLUDING THE BUILT-UP AREAS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES CONDUCTED BETWEEN OCTOBER 1989 AND JUNE LAST YEAR AND INVOLVED EXTERNAL INSPECTION OF SOME 55,500 PRIVATE SECTOR BUILDINGS.

AND

WAS

THE

THE EIGHT MONTH EXERCISE REVEALED THAT SOME 17,000 BUILDINGS, OR 30 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL INSPECTED, WERE FOUND TO BE IN A SUSPECT CONDITION REQUIRING A MORE DETAILED INSPECTION то ASCERTAIN THE EXTENT OF DETERIORATION.

OF THIS NUMBER OF BUILDINGS IT WAS FOUND THAT 210 BUILDINGS (INCLUDING 76 PRE-WAR BUILDINGS) NEEDED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.

REPAIR ORDERS

THIS HAS RESULTED IN THE SERVING OF APPROPRIATE UPON THE OWNERS OF 193 BUILDINGS AND THE REMAINING 17 BUILDINGS (OF WHICH 11 WERE PRE-WAR) WERE DEALT WITH BY CLOSURE ORDERS.

AND DEMOLITION

/OF THE

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