ENG-1986 — Page 212

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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the new terminal will come into use before the whole project is completed in 1988. The passenger capacity of the airport will increase to 18 million per year from the present 10 million.

Construction of the 47-storey Queensway Government Offices will be completed early next year. The building, providing over 54 000 square metres of office space, is being occupied in phases while construction and fitting-out work goes on.

Several projects for the disciplined services were also completed in 1986, including a new Marine Police Base in Aberdeen, which forms part of a general expansion and upgrading of marine police facilities. Design work was being carried out for new marine bases at Sai Kung and Ma Liu Shui. Divisional police stations were completed at Castle Peak, and at Tin Sum in Sha Tin, while the new Kowloon Regional Command Centre provided improved communications for the Kowloon area. Work began on the reprovisioning of the Police Tactical Unit in Fanling, a major project to improve training facilities, while construction continued on the final phase of the expansion of the Police Training School in Wong Chuk Hang, and new District Police Stations in Tai Po and Tsing Yi. The Fire Services Department occupied the new Headquarters and Divisional Fire Station in Tsim Sha Tsui East, as well as a new fire station in Shun Lee Tsuen and an ambulance depot in Tai Po. Construction of 274 quarters for the Correctional Services at Hei Ling Chau and Stanley Prison was underway, and a new border crossing facility was completed at Man Kam To to cope with the ever-increasing volume of traffic between Hong Kong and China.

Apart from carrying out its own building contracts, the Architectural Services Depart- ment continued its considerable involvement in joint-venture projects between the govern- ment and private developers, and with community facilities which are the subject of subvention by the government. Among the joint-venture projects completed or under construction in 1986 are residential flats in Ho Man Tin and Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon, and Tai Tam and Shouson Hill, Hong Kong, from which the government will receive a total of over 390 flats. Other major projects include developments at Tai Po Market and Southorn Playground, Wan Chai, and the new China Passenger Ferry Services Terminal, currently under construction in Kowloon. Subvented work for schools and education, vocational training, social welfare, medical and recreation facilities currently involves the department in over 400 projects.

Private Building

During 1986, 597 proposals for private building development were submitted to the Buildings Ordinance Office for approval, compared with 626 in 1985. Occupation permits issued for completed buildings totalled 404, providing usable floor area of 2 515 834 square metres, an approximate decrease of 13 per cent compared with the previous year. The total amount expended on private building works, excluding the cost of land, was $13,906 million, an increase of 21 per cent. At the end of the year, the private building sector was served by 818 architects, engineers, or surveyors registered as authorised persons, 355 engineers registered as structural engineers, and 2 455 contractors registered under the Buildings Ordinance.

Interest in luxury flat development continued as shown by the construction of the very large residential project overlooking Tai Lam Country Park, and the proposed new residential blocks on the site of the old Repulse Bay Hotel. Other significant examples of development for which approval has been given are the new Hong Kong and China Ferry Terminal at Canton Road, the proposed City Polytechnic at Tat Chee Avenue, and the