stage I'
late availability of the pipeline route; under 'Sha Tin new town stage I, phase 2 - development areas 5, 48 and 28' ($10,398,119 or 54.2%) because of lower than anticipated tender prices, slow progress of the works, late availability of borrow areas and because village removal and resites did not proceed on schedule; under 'Sha Tin New Town - stage I phase 2 - development of area 16B' ($6,507,325 or 49.3%) due to lower than anticipated tender prices and the late availability of work sites; under 'Sha Tin new town – interim and permanent sewage treatment works, stage l' ($8,662,137 or 75.7%) because of delay in the commencement of the construction and supply contracts; under ‘Sha Tin Water supply, stage I phase II ($6,724,565 or 53.1%) because of delays in road formation, non-availability of the site, lower than estimated tender prices for service reservoir contracts and stores and delay in disbursing land resumption payments; under 'Castle Peak Housing Authority estate, area 6' ($14,631,202 or 29.9%) because of delay in agreeing communal aerial requirements and delay in the completion of the building programme; under 'Tuen Mun Road ($25,188,842 or 26.2%) because of slow progress of the works, partly caused by inclement weather, delay in the repro- visioning works due to land problems and a saving in the contract contingency sum; under 'Tuen Mun water supply - stage IB' ($7,557,636 or 70%) because of (i) delay in land clearance leading to delay in the construction of the service reservoir, (ii) lower than anticipated tender prices in the civil contracts, (iii) delay in mainlaying as a result of changes in the planning proposals and (iv) late delivery of plant. The three largest excesses on subheads under this Head were: 'Hing Wah Housing Authority estate' ($1,328,492 or 23.9%) mainly because the final account for this project was pre- pared earlier than expected and was larger than anticipated, also because some expenditure allowed for in the estimate for 1975/76 was not settled until 1976/77; ‘Kwai Chung Development: site formation: roads and drainage for Ha Kwai Chung estate' ($596,727 or 13.3%) because the work progressed faster than originally anticipated; and 'Tuen Mun new town stage II - preliminary report and design' ($2,775,902 or 129.1%) due to the payment of increased consultants' fees for the preparation of the Stage II Report and the earlier commencement of design work, following the submission of this report.
Head 71 - Public Works Non-Recurrent: Waterworks
The approved estimate for the year was sub-divided into 21 subheads of which 16 showed savings and 5 were overspent. One new subhead ‘Additional water supply from East River, stage I' was opened during the year with supplementary provision of $8,300,000 of which $4,656,759 was spent. The largest individual savings were $4,158,354 or 77.6% under 'Yuen Long water supply stage I' because progress of the work was delayed during a revision of planning proposals and extension of the scope of the work; and $4,218,061 or 11.9% under 'Single purpose desalting plant' due to delay in the completion of residual electrical, instrumentation and other works. There were other substantial savings under: 'Central district salt water flushing system stage II' ($1,358,841 or 65.6%) due to the non-availability of the pumping station site as a result of uncertainties attaching to the redevelopment of the Hong Kong University site and slow progress of the mainlaying contract; 'Pok Fu Lam water supply stage III' ($1,231,899 or 38.4%) because progress of the service reservoir and mainlaying contracts was slower than anticipated and there were savings following a revision of the proposals for additional water supply to Wah Fu Estate; 'Extensions to New Kowloon East high level fresh water supply, stage I' ($1,042,300 or 48.9%) because of delay due to re-tendering for the pumpset supply contract for Shum Wan Shan Pumping station; ‘Sheung Shui/Tai Po supply stage III' ($856,211 or 20.6%) due to slow progress of the service reservoir contract; and 'Raising of Plover Cove Dams, uprating and extension of Sha Tin treatment works and pumping station and Tai Po Tau pumping station' ($2,026,496 or 29.5%) because payments made overseas cost less than estimated due to the strengthening of the Hong Kong dollar and payment of retention money on plant contracts was not made before the end of the year. There was only one significant excess on subheads appearing in the original estimates, this was a very large item; $46,828,227 against an estimate of $3,298,000 under 'Plover Cove scheme' due to the settlement of contract claims following arbitration.
Head 72 – Radio Hong Kong
There was only one significant variation from the original estimates under this Head, namely an excess of $2,419,144 or 57.6% under 'Programmes' because (i) the department took over responsibility for the production of primary and secondary educational television programmes with effect from July 1976 which had not been provided for in the estimates, (ii) a number of new public affairs programmes were introduced which were also outside the purview of the original estimates and (iii) approval was given for the reinstatement of a copyright agreement with the International Federation of Phonographic Industry to permit the use of their members' musical productions in the departments radio programmes, with a consequent increase in licence fees payable. One new subhead 'Television equipment' was opened during the year with supplementary provision of $9,000,000, to provide television facilities to allow for the production of Govern- ment television programmes in colour and to continue to expand ETV programmes for secondary schools, against which expenditure of $8,099,267 was actually recorded.
Head 74 - Registrar General's Department
Apart from 'Personal emoluments' there was only one significant variation from the estimate. This was an excess of $413,440 or 227.2% under ‘Hire of Services' because of unexpected expenditure incurred in connection with investiga- tions under the Companies Ordinance.
Head 78 - Social Welfare Department
There was three significant savings under this Head. The subhead for 'Stores and equipment' was underspent by $579,356 or 10.8% mainly due to delay in the supply of equipment and stores ordered from overseas; the subhead for ‘Relief' was underspent by $60,600,982 or 20.2% mainly because of a general improvement in the economic situation which resulted in a reduction in public assistance applications and caseload during the year; and the subhead for 'Furniture
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