For discussion
PWSC(98-99)10
on 22 July 1998

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Health - Clinics
67MC - Public Health Laboratory Centre

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 67MC to Category A at an estimated cost of $1,313.0 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of a Public Health Laboratory Centre at Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon.

PROBLEM

We need to provide good quality laboratory support and adequate accommodation to enable the Department of Health (DH) to effectively carry out its public health functions of surveillance and control of infectious diseases, and statutory control of food and drugs.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S), with the support of the Secretary for Health and Welfare, proposes to upgrade 67MC to Category A at an estimated cost of $1,313.0 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of a Public Health Laboratory Centre at Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The project comprises the construction of a 15-storey building on a reserved site of 6 115 square metres at the junction of Nam Cheong Street and Cornwall Street to provide -

1. 137 functional rooms for conducting a wide range of laboratory tests;

2. centralised accommodation for the Pathology Service, Hygiene Division and Pharmaceutical Service of DH;

3. supporting and ancillary facilities, including sterilisation, incubation and cold rooms for laboratory services, conference/seminar rooms, and a multi-function hall; and

4. a carpark with 104 spaces for staff and visitors at the lower levels of the building.

JUSTIFICATION

4. The Pathology Service of DH plays a key role in supporting the surveillance, investigation, prevention and control of infectious diseases. Provision of good quality public health laboratories is necessary to enable DH to discharge its statutory responsibility of safeguarding the health of the community against the threat of infectious diseases.

5. At present, laboratories of the Pathology Service are scattered at different locations, including Kowloon Hospital, Queen Mary Hospital, Yung Fung Shee Memorial Centre, Lek Yuen Health Centre, Yan Oi Polyclinic, Sai Ying Pun Polyclinic and the Institute of Immunology at Victoria Road. The existing accommodations standard have not kept pace with increases in laboratory services and equipment. Conditions of the supporting facilities such as incubation rooms, cold rooms and sterilisation rooms, are also lagging behind development in terms of space provision and ventilation. The lack of space and scattered locations also preclude the introduction of service improvements to keep pace with advances in medical science ¹. There is a need to provide additional space for service expansion and to upgrade the laboratory facilities to meet the present day requirements.

6. The project will enable DH to house most of the laboratories of the Pathology Service under one roof. This centralisation will enhance efficiency and productivity as it can optimise the utilisation of equipment and staff resources. The proposed centre will foster better co-ordination, which will facilitate DH to conduct expeditious investigation and to initiate prompt response for the control of infectious diseases. By providing adequate space and a laboratory environment to meet the installation and operational requirements of modern sophisticated equipment, new methodologies and laboratory technologies can be introduced for swift and effective control of public health incidents.

7. The project will also provide office accommodation for reprovisioning of the Hygiene Division and the Pharmaceutical Service of DH. The two divisions are responsible for food safety and control of drugs respectively. Both services need laboratory support to discharge their functions. To house all three divisions in one building will promote work co-ordination among the services and maximise operational efficiency.

8. The Hygiene Division and the Pharmaceutical Service have undergone rapid expansion in recent years to meet service needs. With increasing number of reports on food-related diseases ² , the Hygiene Division has put in place additional resources ³ for the prevention and control of food-related diseases including development of microbiological criteria and standards for food. The Pharmaceutical Service has also put in place additional manpower resources ⁴ to step up inspection and monitoring activities ⁵ . The project will provide adequate space to accommodate the expanded divisions and enable them to function effectively and in a co-ordinated manner.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

9. We estimate the total project cost to be $1,313.0 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 11 below), made up as follows -

	$ million
(a) Site formation works	10.1
(b) Piling	51.5
(c) Drainage and external works	10.6
(d) Building	413.3
(e) Building services	203.5
(f) Furniture and equipment	240.0
(g) Consultants' fees	5.0
(h) Contingencies	93.4
	______
Sub-total	1,027.4	(at December 1997 prices)
(i) Inflation allowance	285.6
	______
Total	1,313.0	(in MOD prices)
	______

A breakdown of the cost estimate for consultants' fees for this project is at the Enclosure.

10. The construction floor area (CFA) of 67MC is 42 416 square metres. The construction unit cost of the superstructure, represented by building and building services costs, is $14,542 per square metre at December 1997 prices. We consider this reasonable compared with similar projects built by government.

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

Year	$ million (Dec 1997)	Price adjustment factor	$ million (MOD)
1998 - 99	20.0	1.06000	21.2
1999 - 2000	310.0	1.14878	356.1
2000 - 01	320.0	1.24642	398.9
2001 - 02	210.0	1.35237	284.0
2002 - 03	110.0	1.46732	161.4
2003 - 04	57.4	1.59204	91.4
	______		______
	1,027.4		1,313.0
	______		______

12. We derived the MOD estimates on the basis of the Government's forecast of trend labour and construction prices over the period 1998 to 2004. To speed up the works programme, we will separately tender the project under a fixed-price lump-sum contract for piling & site formation and a lump-sum contract with provision for inflation for the superstructure and drainage and external works.

13. We estimate the net additional annually recurrent expenditure of the project to be $38.04 million.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

14. D Arch S conducted a Preliminary Environmental Review (PER) in January 1996. The PER concluded and the Director of Environmental Protection agreed that the project would have limited potential for adverse impacts on the environment. We will implement arrangements for the management, storage, transport and disposal of chemical and clinical wastes as recommended in the PER. D Arch S also completed an Air Impact Assessment in January 1998 to study the potential impact to be caused by the exhausts from the laboratory uses. We will install built-in water scrubbers in the fume cupboard and high efficiency particulate absolute filters in the safety cabinets for treatment of air emissions before release to the external environment.

15. We will control dust, noise and site run-off nuisance during construction through the implementation of mitigation measures in the relevant contracts.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

16. We consulted the Sham Shui Po Provisional District Board in February 1998. Members of the Board raised no objections to the project.

LAND ACQUISITION

17. This project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

18. The present proposal has an achieved plot ratio of about 4.5 and a building height of 135 metres above mean Principal Datum. We consider that the project has maximised the development potential of the site.

19. We upgraded this project to Category B in September 1996. D Arch S completed site investigation works for the project by using a term contractor and charged the estimated cost of $650,000 to block allocation Subhead 3100GX. We plan to start the works as soon as practicable after funding approval, in any case not later than October 1998. The works will take some 30 months inclusive from start to finish. We aim to complete the construction works by June 2001.

Health and Welfare Bureau

July 1998

(DD1219)

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Enclosure to PWSC(98-99)10

67MC - Public Health Laboratory Centre

DETAILS OF CONSULTANTS' FEES AND TRADING FUND CHARGES

Breakdown of estimates for consultants' fees and trading fund charges

Category of works/items		Estimated man- months	Average MPS* salary point	Multiplier factor	Estimated fee ($ million)
(A)Consultants' staff cost
Structural engineering discipline - drafting services	Technical	8.4	16	3.0	0.5
(B)Charges by Electrical & Mechanical Services Trading Fund (EMSTF)
Fees for advisory services on installation, testing, commissioning and monitoring services during maintenance period					3.9
(C)Charges by the Office of the Telecommunication Authority Trading Fund (OFTATF)
Fees for advisory services on planning, design and installation of telecommunication system					0.6
					___
				Total	5.0
					___

*MPS = Master Pay Scale

Notes

1. A multiplier factor of 3 is applied to the average MPS point to arrive at the full staff costs including the consultants' overhead and profit, as the staff will be employed in the consultants' offices. (At 1.4.97, MPS pt. 16 = $19,860 p.m.)

2. The figures given above are based on estimates prepared by the Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S). We will only know the actual man months and actual fees when we have selected the consultants through the usual competitive bidding system.

3. Since the establishment of EMSTF on 1 August 1996 under the Trading Funds Ordinance, government departments are charged for design and technical consultancy services for electrical and mechanical installations provided by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). The figures above are based on estimates prepared by D Arch S . The actual cost for the service charges is subject to further discussion and agreement between the Government and the EMSD.

4. Since the establishment of the OFTATF on 1 June 1995 under the Trading Funds Ordinance, government departments are charged for design and technical consultancy services for telecommunication system installations provided by the Office of the Telecommunication Authority (OFTA). The figures above are based on estimates prepared by D Arch S. The actual cost for the service charges is subject to further discussion and agreement between the Government and the OFTA.

(DD1219)

1.As an illustration of the acute shortage of space, 56 of the functional rooms at the new building are to be used to accommodate existing laboratory services which are not currently housed in designated rooms because of a lack of suitable accommodation.

2.In 1992, there were 141 food poisoning cases reported with 1 006 individuals being affected. Three cholera cases were notified. In 1997, the corresponding figures were 364, 1 900 and 14 respectively.

3.The establishment of the Hygiene Division increased from 187 in December 1995 to 243 in April 1998, an increase of 30% in about two and a half years.

4. The establishment of the Pharmaceutical Service was 86 in April 1996 and 100 in April 1998, and increase of 16% in two years.

5.The work of the Pharmaceutical Service includes licensing of pharmaceutical manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers and retailers, and inspection of their premises; sampling of Western and Chinese medicine for analysis; prosecutions in respect of drug offences and screening of medical advertisements in newspapers and magazines.