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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
In accounting for my stewardship of the Works Planning Committee since I took over from our former colleague, Mr. P. K. NG, I can report that the pace set in the previous year has, in fact, been kept up this year. During the first half of the current financial year, i.e. as at the end of September 1976, a total amount of $11.6 million was actually expended on Council financed projects. Adding this figure to the $3.7 million worth of works expended on projects financed by Government, the total amounts to some $15.3 million. In addition, another 35 Council financed projects estimated at $132.4 million, are now under construction.
A few examples of major construction works completed this year are Mong Kok Market, Hong Ning Road Recreation Ground, 3 indoor Games Halls and the Morse Park Improvement Scheme, which includes the artificial turf football pitch, all these financed by the Council. Also to name a few Council projects which are under construction, the new Urban Council Chamber, Wan Chai Sports Ground, which is of national status, the Planetarium in Tsim Sha Tsui, Aberdeen and Tai Wan Swimming Pool Complexes, Chai Wan Market, etc., plus the other capital projects financed by Government or in partnership with Government, which are also under construction, such as the Hung Hom Indoor Stadium, Centre Street Hawker Bazaar, and the Morrison Hill Indoor Stadium.
The record shows reasonable progress, with which the Council can justifiably be pleased, but not complacent, as there is so much to do. The time has perhaps arrived when we must reappraise the overall situation, as the future demands a new and different approach towards solving our future problems. There are now some 32 new capital works projects estimated at $48.5 million, in the pipeline. These include Aberdeen Sports Ground Extension, Victoria Park Extension and Redevelopment, Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, Cheung Sha Wan Sports Ground, etc., due to begin work in the next financial year, with some 40 U.A.B.V. projects also lined up in the queue. Including the construction and payment for some projects carried over from the current financial year, it is expected that a total of some $70 million worth of works will be in hand next year. This is a very substantial increase in workload for everyone involved, as many of our projects, although relatively minor in scope, require detailed planning and attention. The Planning Unit of U.S.D. and the Architectural Office of P.W.D. will both need staff increases to cope with the added workload. However, and this is the problem, sufficient qualified staff are not available in the P.W.D. at present to carry out all our schemes. It is now essential to examine other means. We are currently engaged
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in discussions with the Government with a view to resolving these problems by the use of Architectural and technical resources from outside Government, but working through the P.W.D., who will control their activities on our behalf.
In reviewing our past and future list of projects, great emphasis has been, and will continue to be laid on providing recreational facilities without forgetting other essentials like markets, public toilets and refuse collection points. However, in an intensively urbanized city like Hong Kong, recreational facilities not only provide opportunities for relaxation and enjoyment, but also act as useful outlets for releasing pent-up feelings and expending excessive energy, particularly amongst the younger group of our society. It is interesting to speculate if the levelling off or even the mild drop in last year's crime rate, as pointed out by the Commissioner of Police some months ago, should have anything to do with the general awareness of the need for more recreational outlets, it would indeed be gratifying to know that the Council has played a part in this healthy trend.
Hitherto, most Council projects with a few exceptions, have been designed and built to the conventional formula of maximum use at minimal cost, resulting in buildings and facilities, which, while functional, have few frills. With the benefit of three and a half years' experience, perhaps the time has come for the Council to venture into new building concepts more suited to the ever increasing sophisticated tastes of the people. The first steps towards this course have already been taken in that for the first time in the history of Hong Kong, escalators are installed in a market building in Mong Kok. Steps have been taken to improve internal fittings at existing public toilets, and soon standard type of playground equipment will be replaced with new and more interesting ones.
Looking into the future, the day is not far off when all the good and easily developed land in the urban area will have been exhausted, and Councillors and the department racking their brains trying to find sites for new development. By this I mean that in order to make the most effective use of every site, we must give careful consideration to the overall and co-ordinated comprehensive planning. We should also examine whether, with a certain amount of engineering and architectural ingenuity, we could perhaps profitably utilize difficult sites, such as fairly steep hillsides, or we may even have to consider reclaiming minor pockets of land for development. Such additional site formation works would be costly, but under future circumstances, justified, and may be unavoidable. Also, with the land so expensively attained,
Page 76 of 135
Page 76 of 135
118
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
In accounting for my stewardship of the Works Planning Com- mittee since I took over from our former colleague, Mr. P. K. NG, I can report that the pace set in the previous year has, in fact, been kept up this year. During the first half of the current financial year, i.e. as at the end of September 1976, a total amount of $11.6 million was actually expended on Council financed projects. Adding this figure to the $3.7 million worth of works expended on projects financed by Government, the total amounts to some $15.3 million. In addition, another 35 Council financed projects estimated at $132.4 million, are now under construction.
A few examples of major construction works completed this year are Mong Kok Market, Hong Ning Road Recreation Ground, 3 indoor Games Halls and the Morse Park Improvement Scheme, which includes the artifical turf football pitch, all these financed by the Council. Also to name a few Council projects which are under construction, the new Urban Council Chamber, Wan Chai Sports Ground, which is of national status, the Planetarium in Tsim Sha Tsui, Aberdeen and Tai Wan Swimming Pool Complexes, Chai Wan Market, etc., plus the other capital projects financed by Government or in partnership with Government, which are also under construction, such as the Hung Hom Indoor Stadium, Centre Street Hawker Bazaar, and the Morrison Hill Indoor Stadium.
The record shows reasonable progress, with which the Council can justifiably be pleased, but not complacent, as there is so much to do. The time has perhaps arrived when we must reappraise the overall situation, as the future demands a new and different approach towards solving our future problems. There are now some 32 new capital works projects estimated at $48.5 million, in the pipeline. These in- clude Aberdeen Sports Ground Extension, Victoria Park Extension and Redevelopment, Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, Cheung Sha Wan Sports Ground, etc., due to begin work in the next financial year, with some 40 U.A.B.V. projects also lined up in the queue. Including the construction and payment for some projects carried over from the current financial year, it is expected that a total of some $70 million worth of works will be in hand next year. This is a very substantial increase in workload for everyone involved, as many of our projects, although relatively minor in scope, require detailed planning and attention. The Planning Unit of U.S.D. and the Architectural Office of P.W.D. will both need staff increases to cope with the added work- load. However, and this is the problem, sufficient qualified staff are not available in the P.W.D. at present to carry out all our schemes. It is now essential to examine other means. We are currently engaged
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
119
in discussions with the Government with a view to resolving these problems by the use of Architectural and technical resources from outside Government, but working through the P.W.D., who will control their activities on our behalf.
In reviewing our past and future list of projects, great emphasis has been, and will continue to be laid on providing recreational facilities without forgetting other essentials like markets, public toilets and refuse collection points. However, in an intensively urbanized city like Hong Kong, recreational facilities not only provide opportunities for relaxa- tion and enjoyment, but also act as useful outlets for releasing pent-up feelings and expending excessive energy, particularly amongst the younger group of our society. It is interesting to speculate if the level- ling off or even the mild drop in last year's crime rate, as pointed out by the Commissioner of Police some months ago, should have anything to do with the general awareness of the need for more recreational outlets, it would indeed be gratifying to know that the Council has played a part in this healthy trend.
Hitherto, most Council projects with a few exceptions, have been designed and built to the conventional formula of maximum use at minimal cost, resulting in buildings and facilities, which, while func- tional, have few frills. With the benefit of three and a half years' experence, perhaps the time has come for the Council to venture into new building concepts more suited to the ever increasing sophisticated tastes of the people. The first steps towards this course have already been taken in that for the first time in the history of Hong Kong, escalators are installed in a market building in Mong Kok. Steps have been taken to improve internal fittings at existing public toilets, and soon standard type of playground equipment will be replaced with new and more interesting ones.
Looking into the future, the day is not far off when all the good and easily developed land in the urban area will have been exhausted, and Councillors and the department racking their brains trying to find sites for new development. By this I mean that in order to make the most effective use of every site, we must give careful con ideration to the overall and co-ordinated comprehensive planning. We should also examine whether, with a certain amount of engineering and architec- tural ingenuity, we could perhaps profitably utilize difficult sites, such as fairly steep hillsides, or we may even have to consider reclaiming minor pockets of land for development. Such additional site formation works would be costly, but under future circumstances, justified, and may be unavoidable. Also, with the land so expensively attained,
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