Information Paper for
Legislative Council Panel on Housing


Funding Allocation for Demolition of
Temporary Housing Areas and Cottage Areas


PURPOSE

We intend to seek the approval of the Finance Committee to allocate a sum of $68.84 million to the Lands Department for the demolition of six Temporary Housing Areas and four Cottage Areas. This paper briefs Members on our proposal.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Lands (D of Lands), with the support of the Secretary for Housing, will propose to create a new commitment of $ 68.84 million for demolishing structures in the six Temporary Housing Areas, namely Tsing On, Kai Lok , Kai Wo, Kai Yiu, Sha Kok Mei and Long Bin and the four Cottage Areas at Fo Tan, Mt. Davis, So Kon Po and Lai Chi Kok.

JUSTIFICATION

3. The Government has pledged in the Policy Address last year to -

  1. clear the remaining old-style Temporary Housing Areas (THAs) by 2000 by rehousing eligible clearees in public housing, including interim housing, in order to improve the living conditions of those affected and to free land for development; and

  2. clear the remaining Cottage Areas (CAs) by 2001 to provide a more satisfactory living environment to resettled households.

4. The Lands Department is responsible for seeking funds for the demolition of the six THAs and four CAs concerned. The Housing Department will act as the clearance and rehousing agent for the Government. Details of the clearance program are given at Annex. Since the affected occupants might vacate individual units whenever they wish, the Housing Department would patrol regularly the vacated structures to minimise fire risk, unauthorized re-occupation, hygiene and security problem. Demolition work will be carried out as soon as all occupants have moved out.

5. The Government will make sure that nobody would be rendered homeless as a result of the clearance operation. Eligible clearees will receive ex-gratia allowances in accordance with the prevailing criteria and allowance rates. They may also be rehoused to public housing including interim housing according to their eligibility.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

6. Clearance costs for the THAs and CAs shall fall into two parts, i.e. the demolition cost of structures and the ex-gratia allowances for clearees. The total sum of ex-gratia allowances is estimated to be $27.32 million which will be provided under separate funding by the Lands Department. The demolition cost of the THAs and CAs is estimated to be $68.84 million.

7. We need to seek approval for the commitment in the current financial year in order to prepare for the clearance programmes of THAs and CAs concerned scheduled for the coming three years.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

8. THAs, an early form of interim housing, provide accommodation for people who are rendered homeless for one reason or another but are not eligible for permanent public housing. Since these THAs comprise old-type low-rise timber structures, the living environment is not satisfactory. Over the years the Government has been making efforts to improve the living environment of the residents. All the THAs built before 1984 have been cleared. The remaining THAs will be cleared by 2000 and replaced by multi-storey concrete blocks and prefabricated interim housing blocks.

9. CAs were established in the 1950s and 1960s to rehouse squatters rendered homeless by natural disasters and immigrants from the mainland of China. They comprise mainly single-storey structures built of stone or less-permanent materials. Residents were given occupation permits but no legal title to the land.


Housing Bureau
November 1998


Annex

Clearance Program of Temporary Housing Areas (THAs) and Cottage Areas (CAs)

Estimated no. of blocks

Estimated no. of households

Estimated no. of persons

Date of completion (tentative)

Name of THA





Tsing On

6

166

386

December 1999

Kai Lok

46

792

2081

April 2000

Kai Wo

10

179

388

April 2000

Kai Yiu

11

166

445

April 2000

Sha Kok Mei

51

943

2183

May 2000

Long Bin

15

503

726

June 2000

Total

139

2749

6209





Estimated no. of blocks

Estimated no. of households

Estimated no. of persons

Date of completion (tentative)

Name of CA





Fo Tan

189

135

513

July 2000

So Kon Po

179

161

612

August 2001

Mount Davis

221

184

699

August 2001

Lai Chi Kok

177

202

768

October 2001

Total

766

682

2592