TNAG-0565-FCO40-660-Construction-of-an-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 76

G.F. 323

(2)

CONFIDENTIAL #B

機密

Page 2 to Annex C

The land costs included within the revised estimate figure of 3792 million amount to $118 million. These land costs comprise charges for works areas, the cost of making certain sites, required for permanent use, available to the future Corporation, and a figure for compensation that may become payable under the lass Transit Railway (Land Resumption and Related Provisions) Ordinance. As regards land grants generally, Honourable Members recently adopted a set of principles which should apply to the lass Transit Railway Corporation. In these principles it as stated that the charge to the Corporation for short term tenancies of saleable or lettable Crowm land would be the rent applicable for open storage purposes or the cost of making the land available to the Corporation, whichever was the higher. The amount of land which is required for works areas on a short term basis is considerable and without doubt the largest in area that has ever been required for a single project in Hong Kong. It has now been established that it amounts to about 5.5 million sq. ft. and, were this to be charged at the standard rate of $3 per sq. ft. per annum for short term tenancies to private developers, the amount payable by the Corporation would be about $60m. over 3 years, whereas the actual cost to Government of making this land available is only approximately $3m. Although the Corporation is to be run on commercial lines, it will be a publicly owed Corporation and, as such, it is thought that the Government should simply seek to cover its costs. Consequently, for present purposes, the figure that has been used for short term tenancies for works areas within the estimate of land costs of $118 million is 33m.

CONFIDENTIAL

機密