XN000022-1995-07-05 — Page 52

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Maintenance of public housing estates

Following is a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung and a reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

In view of the incident in which a concrete block fell from the ceiling in flat at Kwai Chung Estate which is over 30 years old, will the Government inform this Council whether :

(a)

(b)

inspections will be carried out regularly on the structural safety of buildings in old public housing estates; and

the Housing Department will speed up the redevelopment and demolition of old public housing estates so as to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents?

Answer:

Mr President,

All housing blocks built before 1981 are inspected regularly by Housing Department structural engineers for structural safety. The frequency of inspections depends on the structural condition of each block, but a two-year cycle is typical.

Estate management staff also inspect the general condition of each flat at least once every 18 months. The focus of this type of inspection is on spalling concrete and water seepage. Where necessary, maintenance surveyors, structural engineers and consultants will participate in such inspections.

The Housing Authority has a Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme for old housing blocks. Redevelopment is determined having regard to various factors, such as structural and general conditions of the block, facilities available in each flat and community facilities provided in the housing estate. Another factor affecting the timing is the availability of flats for rehousing existing tenants, particularly as most of them prefer to remain in the same district.