ENG-1982 — Page 168

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HOUSING AND LAND

During 1982, 604 proposals for private building development were submitted for approval to the Buildings Ordinance Office, compared with 1 031 in 1981. Occupation permits issued for completed buildings numbered 585, providing a total usable floor area of 3 154 882 square metres. This represented an approximate decrease of one per cent below the previous year. The total amount expended on private building work, excluding the cost of land, was $10,122 million, an increase of 40 per cent. By mid-1982 the Authorized Persons' Register contained the names of 665 professional persons and the Structural Engineers' Register 312. Of these, 196 were included in both registers.

A recent development in the design of commercial buildings has been a significant increase in the use of curtain-walling as an external envelope, particularly in the urban areas of Central District, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui. The completion of a new airport hotel in Sa Po Road, Kowloon, was a notable event, comprising 15-storeys of tourist accommodation close to Hong Kong International Airport. In Tsim Sha Tsui, a multi- storey commercial building and car park was planned to provide 980 parking spaces. On Hong Kong Island, a start was made on the construction of the Macau Ferry Terminal development, with a projected handling capacity of 90 000 persons per day on completion in 1986. Other projects in the planning stage included the Academy for Performing Arts on the Wan Chai waterfront and a medical rehabilitation centre at Sandy Bay to accommodate 150 physically handicapped patients.

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Increased construction of high-rise tower-blocks containing domestic accommodation was evident in the rural areas of Tai Tam on Hong Kong Island, and Tsing Lung Tau in the New Territories. Medium-sized accommodation was in part catered for by the completion of 432 flats for the Hong Kong Housing Society Western Garden Development and the 5.06-hectare Luk Yeung Sun Chuen development in Tsuen Wan. Luxury accommodation which was approved includes the Red Hill development for 385 houses, a 250-house marina at Sai Kung, and the 6.75-hectare Tai Long Wan leisure community.

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The Mass Transit Railway Corporation continued to generate more large-scale building development related to station concourses. These include domestic complexes and provision for other facilities such as a magistracy, government offices, a stadium, clinic and further welfare facilities.

The Mid-levels Moratorium which was initially imposed in 1972, was finally lifted in June by virtue of the Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 1982, which codified a set of comprehensive and stringent geotechnical controls of building development in the Mid- levels scheduled area. Revision of other parts of the Buildings Ordinance and Regulations, notably in respect of construction and oil storage installation, remained under study.

pre-war

During the year, 107 dangerous buildings were closed, of which 102 were emergency cases. In addition, 539 notices requiring demolition or repair of dangerous buildings, 52 notices requiring remedial works to dangerous slopes, and 94 notices requiring repairs to defective drainage were served. While the number of closures and demolitions of buildings decreased due to systematic surveillance, the rapid deterioration of early post-war reinforced concrete buildings became a matter of increasing concern. Performance in the overall control of unauthorised building works, however, showed no marked improvement. During the year, 1 696 buildings were inspected for unauthorised building works which resulted in 343 statutory notices being served.

Management of Buildings in Multiple Ownership

During 1982, 189 new owners' corporations were formed under the Multi-storey Buildings (Owners Incorporation) Ordinance. This legislation, passed in 1970, enables owners of a