For discussion FCR(95-96)118
on 2 February 1996
ITEM FOR FINANCE COMMITTEE
HEAD 43 - CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Subhead 700 General other non-recurrent
Members are invited to approve a commitment of $70.8 million for engaging consultants to identify the maintenance responsibility of man-made slopes in the territory.
We have difficulties in identifying who should be responsible for repairs and maintenance of some 50 000 man-made slopes in the territory within the desired time-frame of three years.
2. The Director of Civil Engineering (DCE), with the support of Director of Lands (D of L), proposes a consultancy on the systematic identification of maintenance responsibility of man-made slopes in the territory (SIMAR).
3. Private owners are generally responsible for the maintenance of slopes and retaining walls within their land lots. Where there are specific provisions in lease conditions or other land documents or where owners have been permitted to cut into neighbouring land, they may also be liable for the maintenance of slopes and retaining walls adjoining their land. However, many owners are unaware or uncertain of whether a particular slope is within their lot or whether they are bound by land documents to be responsible for its maintenance. This may result in many slopes not being properly maintained.
4. DCE is trying to identify and register all sizeable man-made slopes in the territory, estimated to be about 50 000 in number. He estimates that he will complete the identification exercise by May 1997. To ensure the proper maintenance of these slopes, DCE needs to ascertain from D of L the parties responsible. However, D of Ls present records do not readily indicate the maintenance responsibility for individual slopes. Whenever there is a request, D of L must first identify the plot of land within which the slope is situated and then go through the land record relating to this plot of land including other relevant information such as the terms of the land transaction and the development history of the site to ascertain the maintenance responsibility of the slope concerned. The work is tedious and time-consuming. In addition to retrieving the proper land records, the officer in charge has to ensure the correct interpretation of the legal provision in the documents. In view of the amount of work involved in such tasks, D of L can only deal with such requests on an ad hoc basis.
5. We need to improve this situation as a matter of urgency for the purpose of ensuring proper maintenance of slopes for safety. DCE requires a complete register of these slopes together with the particulars of the responsible parties for ready and easy reference within the Administration and by the parties concerned. His Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) does not have the expertise to compile such a comprehensive register and has to rely on the assistance of the Lands Department.
6. D of L advises that, based on his present resources, he cannot produce the register within three years having regard to the departments existing workload and commitments. Also, it would not be economical to recruit additional permanent staff just for this one-off task. However, as the authority on land matters, D of L has agreed to manage a consultancy on SIMAR with a view to producing a complete register in three years time. The consultants will have access to information provided by the relevant departments, including the Lands Department and the Buildings Department.
7. To assess the approach to be taken, the size of the problem, the resources required and other associated technical problems with the proposed consultancy, the GEO carried out a SIMAR Pilot Study between July and December 1994 at a cost of $550,000. The pilot study concluded that a full scale SIMAR was a manageable task.
8. On the advice of D of L, DCE estimates that the non-recurrent expenditure will be $70.8 million over a period of three years, broken down as follows -
| 1996-97
$ million
|
1997-98
$ million
|
1998-99
$ million
|
Total
$ million
|
|---|
|
(a) Consultancy fees
|
13.1
|
12.8
|
31.5
|
57.4
|
|
(b) Land Registry service fees
|
1.8
|
2.2
|
3.0
|
7.0
|
|
(c) Contingencies (10%)
|
1.5
|
1.5
|
3.4
|
6.4
|
|
Total
|
16.4
|
16.5
|
37.9
|
70.8 |
9. As regards paragraph 8(a), the consultant fees will be subject to competitive bidding. We shall remunerate the consultants on a lump sum basis for work on the initial 40 000 slopes and on a rate per slope thereafter. This arrangement is necessary because, based on the latest findings of the slope identification exercise, we are certain that the number of slopes in the territory exceeds 40 000, but we have no exact figures in hand. With this arrangement, the consultants can make a better assessment of the work commitments.
10. For the purpose of providing a cost estimate of the project and based on the experience of the pilot study, we estimate that the consultants will need input of 252 man-months of professional staff, 144 man-months of technical staff and 108 man-months of clerical and secretarial staff for work on 50 000 slopes. Details of the calculation are at the Enclosure.
11. As regards paragraph 8(b), the estimated cost of $7 million is for Land Registry service charges for identification and requisition of hard copies of leases and registered documents for some 15 000 private lots.
12. To facilitate the study, the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department will provide the relevant survey sheets and other land record information to the consultants. D of L advises that, to cater for this additional work, his staff will have to work overtime periodically in line with the pace of the study over a three-year period at an estimated additional cost of $500,000 per year. D of L will try to meet the additional requirements from his approved recurrent provision and will seek supplementary provision, if necessary, in the normal manner.
13. D of L will maintain and update regularly the register produced taking into account changes that will affect the maintenance responsibility (e.g. land status, lease terms, etc.). This is to facilitate owners of a particular piece of land to check the register and clarify any doubts on the maintenance responsibility of the slopes at or adjacent to their plot, as and when required. D of L considers that he needs an additional team consisting of about 20 professional, technical, clerical and secretarial staff to maintain the register and to answer queries and objections to the results of the maintenance determination. He estimates that the team may incur salary costs and other departmental expenses of about $4 million each year initially and $7.3 million upon full implementation. However, at this stage we are not certain of the likely number of enquiries and objections and therefore the implications on staff resources. He will review the actual requirement in the light of experience and bid for resources in the normal manner.
14. The slope safety review report published by the Works Branch in February 1995 recommended, amongst other aspects of slope safety, to develop a scheme for clearly identifying the maintenance responsibilities for all registered slopes. The review report was endorsed by the Executive Council in February 1995. We presented a summary of the initial findings of the review to the Legislative Council Panel on Planning, Lands and Works on 20 December 1994.
15. The report of the Select Committee on Kwun Lung Lau Landslip and Related Issues published by the Legislative Council in July 1995 recommended that there should be stepped-up measures to promote public awareness of slope maintenance responsibilities.
Works Branch
January 1996
Enclosure to FCR(95-96)118
We will remunerate the consultants on a lump sum basis for work on the initial 40 000 slopes and on a rate per slope for a further 10 000 slopes. This arrangement is most suitable as we are certain that the number of slopes exceeds 40 000 but have no exact figures in hand.
2. The consultants fees will be subject to competitive bidding. For the purpose of a reasonable cost estimate for this consultancy, we suggest a staffing scale based on the likely volume of work involved and the staff required to deal with it. The estimated fee scales are based on the appropriate Master Pay Scale (MPS) points for comparable ranks in the civil service, multiplied by a factor of 3.0 to allow for the consultants on-costs on the basis that staff will be working in the consultants office. The total estimated staff cost at December 1995 prices is as follows -
|
Rank
|
Number
of
posts
|
Average MPS point
|
Monthly salary
($)
|
Estimated
input
(Man-months)
|
Estimated
fees
($)
(See Note(a))
|
|---|
|
Senior Professional (Note (b))
|
2
|
47
|
67,270
|
72
|
14,530,320
|
|
Professional (Note (c))
|
2
|
38
|
47,135
|
72
|
10,181,160
|
|
Assistant Professional (Note (d))
|
3
|
23
|
24,165
|
108
|
7,829,460
|
|
Technical Officer
|
4
|
20
|
20,985
|
144
|
9,065,520
|
|
Clerical Officer
|
1
|
12
|
14,055
|
36
|
1,517,940
|
|
Personal Secretary
|
2
|
12
|
14,055
|
72
|
3,035,880
|
|
Total
|
46,160,280
(say $46.2 million)
(at 1995 prices) |
Notes :
- The estimated fee = (3.0 x man-months x MPS salary).
- Senior professional refers to Senior Estate Surveyor and Senior Solicitor.
- Professional refers to Estate Surveyor and Land Surveyor.
- Assistant professional refers to Assistant Estate Surveyor.
3. Having regard to the duration of requirements for consultant staff and to cater for general price increases and salary adjustments, we have included in the total commitment sought an inflation-related allowance of 10% per year, on a compound basis. Thus, the total commitment and estimated cashflow of the project is as follows -
|
1996-97
$ million
|
1997-98
$ million
|
1998-99
$ million
|
Total
$ million
|
|---|
|
(a) Estimated cost of
consultant staff
input
|
11.9
|
10.6
|
23.7
|
46.2
|
|
(b) Inflation-related
adjustments
|
1.2
|
2.2
|
7.8
|
11.2
|
|
Total
|
13.1
|
12.8
|
31.5
|
57.4 |
Last Updated on 2 December 1998
