ENG-1993 — Page 264

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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During the year under review, a site in Fanling, with an area of 1.57 hectares, was sold under the Private Sector Participation Scheme. Eight sites were granted to the Housing Authority for the development of Home Ownership Scheme projects. These included three large sites comprising 3.46 hectares, 5.16 hectares and 3.11 hectares in Hong Kong East, Kowloon East and Ma On Shan, respectively.

Land for the construction of about 5 000 flats was granted in 1993–94 to the Hong Kong Housing Society, for an assisted housing scheme for Hong Kong's 'sandwich' class (those families not eligible for existing public housing assistance but unable to afford private sector flats).

Major land transactions and negotiations included the granting of a 46-hectare site in Tuen Mun for the Black Point Power Station; an 8.61-hectare site in Tuen Mun for the relocation of Lingnan College; five hectares of land for the first phase of the Third Industrial Estate at Tsueng Kwan O; and a nine-hectare site in Tuen Mun to relocate the Shiu Wing Steel Mill.

In the New Territories, six sites with a total area of 5.85 hectares were sold by tender restricted to holders of land exchange entitlements. These included a 2.08-hectare site in Fanling and two sites with a total area of 2.74 hectares at Tseung Kwan O. These sites were for commercial and residential use.

Land Registration

The Land Registration Ordinance provides for registration of all instruments affecting land in the Land Registry.

On August 1, 1993, the Land Registry became one of the first government departments to operate on a trading fund basis. A trading fund is a financial and accounting arrangement which requires a department, whose services are of a commercial nature, to operate on a commercial basis while remaining a government department. The basic objective is to improve the quality of service to customers.

Registration of land documents in Hong Kong is effected by means of a memorial form, containing the essential particulars of the instrument, which is then placed on a register showing the particular piece of land or individual premises affected. The registers provide a complete picture of the title to each property, from the grant of the government lease. They are available for search by the public on payment of a small fee. The memorials and a complete copy of each registered instrument are kept, and are also available for search by the public on payment of a fee.

The records of transactions affecting land on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Kowloon and some of the urban areas of the New Territories are kept at the Urban Land Registry located at the Queensway Government Offices. Those relating to transactions affecting land in the remainder of the New Territories are kept at eight district land registries in the New Territories. Before any land transaction is completed, a land search to ascertain property ownership is made. During the year, 3 328 390 such public land searches were made and 631 849 instruments registered throughout the territory, compared with 3 207 280 and 685 136, respectively, in 1992. At the end of the year, there were 1 580 877. property owners, an increase of 75 874 over the previous year.

All instruments and memorials presented for registration in the Urban Land Registry are microfilmed, and the particulars of the land transactions are stored in computerised registers. To improve public search services in the urban areas, the registry is developing a