ENG-1986 — Page 187

HOUSING

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On the outlying islands, the Housing Authority began construction work for 420 flats in Mui Wo on Lantau and finalised layout plans for the development of rental estates on Lantau and Cheung Chau. The Housing Society completed one rural public housing estate at Tui Min Hoi, Sai Kung and began construction of another on the border at Sha Tau Kok.

Redevelopment

From 1954 to 1964, 12 Mark I/II estates, comprising 240 blocks, were constructed to house victims of natural disasters and squatters cleared from development sites. As these estates provided accommodation with only basic facilities, a redevelopment programme was launched in 1972 to improve the living environment of some 84 000 families in these estates. In 1983, the Housing Authority decided to accelerate the redevelopment programme, with the aim of having all the families living in the remaining Mark I/II blocks rehoused by 1990-1. Under this programme, 6 000 families would be rehoused annually. Families wishing to improve their living conditions in advance of the scheduled redevelopment are offered the opportunity to move to new flats in new towns in the New Territories.

During the year, a further 28 Mark I/II blocks in Lei Cheng Uk, Lower Wong Tai Sin, Tung Tau, Wang Tau Hom and Kwun Tong (Tsui Ping Road) estates were demolished to make way for construction of new blocks. The remaining 93 blocks will be demolished and redeveloped by 1990-1.

The authority continued its extended redevelopment programme involving 26 other estate blocks in which the condition of the concrete was found to be unsatisfactory. About 15 000 families affected by this programme will have to be rehoused in new flats in other public housing estates by the end of the decade.

A new section had been set up to plan, co-ordinate and monitor the redevelopment programme. Supplementary sites have been identified to enable new flats to be completed in time for rehousing families affected by the programme. During the year, contracts for four of these supplementary sites were let, and a total of 4 160 flats will be completed on these sites by the end of 1988. At Kwai Fong Estate, the Phase I redevelopment is in hand, and the 905 new flats in this phase will be completed in mid 1987. A total of 4 850 rental flats were completed in Phase 2B of Tung Tau Estate, Phase III of Kwun Tong (Tsui Ping Road) Estate, Phase III of Wan Tsui Estate, Phase VII of Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate, Phase III of Lei Cheng Uk Estate and Phase IVB of Tung Tau Estate, while construction work began on Phase II of Lei Cheng Uk Estate and Phase III of Tai Wo Hau Estate in the normal redevelopment programme.

Allocation

The Housing Authority possesses one of the world's largest public housing stocks, comprising 550 000 rental flats in 119 housing estates. These flats are of different sizes, amenities and rent levels, to meet the wide-ranging requirements of families in need of public housing.

During the year, 25 161 new flats and 9006 vacated units were let to the various categories of eligible applicants. The biggest share went to waiting list applicants (36 per cent), followed by families affected by development clearances (15 per cent), and tenants involved in the redevelopment of Mark I and II blocks and extended redevelopment (27 per cent). Junior public servants, victims of fires and natural disasters, occupants of huts and other structures in dangerous locations, and compassionate cases recommended by the Social Welfare Department took up the rest of the flats.