ENG-2003 — Page 276

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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resources, and easy to 'operate', 'service' and 'maintain'. To encourage staff and consultants to adopt a holistic approach to environmental design, environmental performance assessments including the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) were conducted on the projects concerned.

Provision of a healthy built environment for users and public is a key objective. All projects were designed with the aim of attaining the 'Excellent' class of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) as defined under the IAQ Certification Scheme for Offices and Public Places, which was launched during the year. The 'Overall Energy Approach' was used to achieve a healthy indoor environment in a cost-effective and energy-efficient

manner.

The department continued to take the lead in implementing energy efficient technologies in building services installations. These included the installation of water-cooled air-conditioning systems, total energy heat pumps, and demand control systems, resulting in an estimated annual saving of 300 million megajoules of energy. Use of renewable energy is promoted effectively. During the year, 3 300 square metres of photovoltaic panels with a total electrical capacity of 300 kilowatts were installed in new projects. The Hong Kong Wetland Park's Visitor Centre, to be completed in 2005, will be the first building in Hong Kong that utilises geothermal energy for operating its air-conditioning system.

The efforts of the department in promoting sustainability have been recognised by various bodies. Awards received included the 'Commendation for Environmental Reporting' from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Hong Kong Environmental Reporting Awards 2002, and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects 2002 Annual Award under the category of 'Special Architectural Award Sustainable Design' for the Veterinary Laboratory at Tai Lung in Sheung Shui.

Land Administration

The Lands Administration Office of the Lands Department consists of the headquarters, 14 District Lands Offices and various specialist sections. Its main functions are land acquisition, land disposal, land management and lease enforcement.

Land Acquisition

When private land is acquired in the public interest, usually to implement public works projects, it may be acquired either by negotiation or by resumption under the relevant ordinances, which provide for payment of compensation based on the value of the property and for business loss, at the date of acquisition. If agreement cannot be reached on the amount of compensation, either party can refer the claim to the Lands Tribunal for adjudication. Apart from statutory compensation, there is an alternative system of ex gratia zonal compensation to provide a simplified compensation procedure and early payments relating to land resumption in the New Territories.

A total of 513 066 square metres of private land, comprising 511 874 square metres of agricultural land and 1 192 square metres of building land, were acquired in 2003. Most of the acquired area was to provide land for implementation of road improvement works and river training projects. The improvement works included the construction of roads for the Deep Bay Link and the widening of Yuen Long Highway between Lam Tei and the Shap Pat Heung Interchange. The river training