For discussion PWSC(96-97)83
on 18 December 1996

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Recreation, Culture and Amenities - Cultural facilities
36RE - Lei Yue Mun Museum

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 36RE to Category A at an estimated cost of $271.3 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of Lei Yue Mun Museum at A Kung Ngam.

PROBLEM
PROPOSAL
PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE
JUSTIFICATION
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
LAND ACQUISITION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
36RE - Lei Yue Mun Museum

PROBLEM

It is necessary to conserve the historical batteries and fortification structures at Lei Yue Mun headland, A Kung Ngam by converting the site into a museum for appreciation by the public.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Architectural Services(D Arch S), with the support of the Director of Urban Services (DUS), proposes to upgrade 36RE to Category A at an estimated cost of $271.3 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of Lei Yue Mun Museum at A Kung Ngam.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The proposed Lei Yue Mun Museum will take up about half of the headland, stretching from the entrance at A Kung Ngam southeast to the redoubt which is set at the middle part of the headland. The redoubt, which is the core military structure, will be the focal centre for displays. The theme of the museum will be the coastal defence of the region from the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties until the closing down of the former Lyemun Barracks. The scope of the project comprises -

1. the preservation, refurbishment and conversion of the redoubt at the Lei Yue Mun headland into a museum. This involves the erection of a tensile structure over the redoubt to protect it from weathering, the provision of exhibition galleries, offices, a plant room and store rooms;
2. the construction of a single-storey building at the rear of the redoubt for the provision of a new cafe and toilet facilities;
3. the construction of a services block in the ditch outside the entrance of the redoubt adjacent to the access road;
4. the construction of a lift shaft with two passenger lifts with a light-weight bridge connecting the redoubt at the top of the headland and the low level of the headland where parking facilities will be provided. These two passenger lifts will become the main public access to the redoubt. A reception area, toilets, store rooms, an activity room, a plant room and a control room will be provided in the main entrance block to be constructed at the base of the lift shaft;
5. the restoration of the old military features comprising the Direction Range Finder position above Central Battery and Central Battery itself. The Central Battery includes underground Magazines, Central Battery Gun Emplacement No. 1 and Magazine, Central Battery Gun Emplacement No. 2 and Magazine, Ruined Building near the West Caponier, the West Caponier itself and the ditch adjacent to the Caponier, Western Batteries, Look Out Area above the Western Battery, the Direction Range Finder position above the Western Battery, the later-added 4.7-inch Back Loading Gun Emplacements, the 9-inch Gun Emplacements in the Western Battery, the Underground Magazine in the Western Battery, Ruins of the Oil Tank House, Water Tanks and Engine Rooms, the Brennan Torpedo Station, the Railway Tracks, the Landing Basin, the 6 pounder Quick Fire Gun Battery, and the Gunpowder Factory;
6. the reprovisioning of the depot and telecommunication equipment of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) and the anemometer of Royal Observatory (RO) within the site; and
7. the implementation of improvement works to the access road, which include widening of the road to meet Fire Services Department's requirements, reinstatement of the walls and embankments along the road to meet Geotechnical Engineering Office's requirements, provisioning of lighting, and carrying out of remedial works to the road surface.

JUSTIFICATION

4. The former Lyemun Barracks is one of the oldest British army encampments and fortifications in Hong Kong. Part of the former Lyemun Barracks was converted to a holiday camp, named Lei Yue Mun Park in 1987. The park has been well patronised by the community. General feedback from the campers has indicated that the popularity of the park is mainly due to the natural environment and the historical setting of the site. This ties in well with the Urban Council's plan to preserve the natural environment of the park and the historical features at the former Lyemun Barracks. As a result, the Urban Council decided to accord top priority to developing Lei Yue Mun headland into a museum.

5. The theme of the museum will cover the coastal defence of the Hong Kong region, starting from the Ming and Qing dynasty forts and outposts which were established in the region to keep out pirates, construction of the Victorian fortifications by the British army to protect the harbour, military structures built during the Second World War against the Japanese invasion, and subsequent developments until the closing down of the former Lyemun Barracks. The heritage structures at the site supplemented by the displays in the proposed museum will allow visitors to experience first hand this important facet of Hong Kong’s history.

6. The development of the museum will not only allow the public to have a better appreciation of the former Lyemun Barracks in its historical context, but will also preserve the significant old military features to form an educational historic trail.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7. We estimate the capital cost of the project¹ to be $271.3 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 8 below), made up as follows -

A breakdown by man months of the estimate for consultants’ fees is at the Enclosure.

8. Subject to approval, we will phase the expenditure as follows -

9. We have derived the MOD estimate on the basis of the Government’s forecasts of trend labour and construction prices for the period 1997 to 2001. We will carry out the improvement works to the access road as detailed in paragraph 3(g), and the reprovisioning of the CAD’s depot and equipment and the RO’s anemometer under existing maintenance term contract selected through competitive tendering. This will allow the early commencement of works. The term contract managed by D Arch S is a three-year re-measurement contract. The current contract period is from April 1995 to March 1998. We shall issue works orders to the term contractor who can then start work on site very quickly. The contractor will be paid according to actual works done on site. As most of the works mentioned above are simple and straight-forward, we consider that using a term contractor is appropriate. We will tender the remaining works under a fixed-price lump-sum contract because we can clearly define the scope of works in advance and leave little room for uncertainty.

10. DUS estimates the additional annually recurrent cost of the project to be $5.3 million. This will be borne by the Urban Council.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

11. DUS consulted the Eastern District Board in June 1994 and the District Board had no objection to the proposed development. DUS consulted the Urban Council in March 1995. The Council supported the project.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

12. The Director of Environmental Protection completed an Environmental Review in August 1994 and concluded that an Environmental Impact Assessment was not necessary. As the proposed museum will be equipped with central air-conditioning, we envisage that the museum will not be subject to adverse noise impact. We will control dust, noise and site run-off nuisances during construction through the implementation of mitigation measures in the relevant contracts.

LAND ACQUISITION

13. The project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

14. We upgraded this project to Category B in November 1995. We engaged consultants in October 1996 to carry out site investigation, prepare architectural working drawings and contract documentation. We have charged the cost of $4.7 million to the block allocation Subhead 3100GX "Project feasibility studies, minor investigations and consultancy fees selected from items in Category D of the Public Works Programme". We finalised the detailed design in November 1996. We are preparing other building services and structural engineering working drawings and tender documents for the project using in-house staff. We plan to start the reprovisioning works and the improvement works to the existing access road in January 1997 for completion in April 1997. The construction works under the main contract will commence in August 1997 for completion in June 1999.

(KK148)

1 -- As agreed between the Government and the Ubran Counciil, the Government will be responsible for meeting the capital cost of buidling the museum. The Urban Council will meet the recurrent costs.

Enclosure to PWSC(96-97)83

36RE - Lei Yue Mun Museum

Breakdown of estimates for consultants' fees

Notes

1. A multiplier factor of 3 is applied to the average MPS point to arrive at the full staff costs including the consultant’s overheads and profit, as the staff will be employed in the consultant’s offices. (At 1.4.95, MPS pt. 40= $51,400 p.m. and MPS pt. 16 = $17,270 p.m.).

2. The figures given above are based on estimates prepared by the Director of Architectural Services. We will only know the actual man months and fees when we have selected the consultant through the usual competitive lump sum fee bid system.

(KK148)