For discussion FCR(95-96)97
on 15 December 1995

ITEM FOR FINANCE COMMITTEE

CAPITAL WORKS RESERVE FUND
HEAD 708 - CAPITAL SUBVENTIONS AND MAJOR SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT
Universities
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
New Subhead “Phase VI development - site investigation”
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
New Subhead “Renovation to University Administration Building, façade
and entrance circulation”
New Subhead “Student hostels - site investigation”
New Subhead “Extension to Madam S H Ho Hostel at Prince of Wales Hospital - site investigation”
The University of Hong Kong
New Subhead “Development of Faculty of Medicine at the existing site of Northcote Campus of the Hong Kong Institute of Education site investigation”
New Subhead “Additional 300-place hall of residence - site investigation”
The City University of Hong Kong
New Subhead “Senior staff quarters at Cornwall Street”

Members are invited to approve -

1. new commitments totalling $13,300,000 for site investigation and preliminary design work for five new projects; and
2. new commitments totalling $332,504,000 in money-of-the-day prices for full approval of two new projects,

for the tertiary institutions subvented through the University Grants Committee.

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PROBLEM
PROPOSAL
JUSTIFICATION AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

New projects for site investigation and design
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

• New Subhead “Phase VI development - site investigation”
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• New Subhead “Student hostels - site investigation”
• New Subhead “Extension to Madam S H Ho Hostel at Prince of Wales Hospital - site investigation”
The University of Hong Kong

• New Subhead “Development of Faculty of Medicine at the existing site of Northcote Campus of the Hong Kong Institute of Education - site investigation”
• New Subhead “Additional 300-place hall of residence - site investigation”
New projects for full approval
The City University of Hong Kong

• New Subhead “Senior staff quarters at Cornwall Street”
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• New Subhead “Renovation to University Administration Building, façade and entrance circulation”
Summary of total commitments

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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PROBLEM

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and The University of Hong Kong (HKU) need funding in 1996-97 for capital works to provide additional accommodation and improved facilities to meet teaching and research needs, that are essential to achieving the student number targets approved by the Government. The City University of Hong Kong (CityU) needs additional on-campus senior staff quarters to meet its present shortfall.

PROPOSAL

2. The University Grants Committee (UGC) recommends, and the Secretary-General, UGC with the support of the Secretary for Education and Manpower (SEM) proposes funding for seven capital projects, comprising the following -

1. $5,000,000 for site investigation and preliminary design for Phase VI campus development of PolyU;
2. $2,000,000 for site investigation and preliminary design for new student hostels at CUHK;
3. $300,000 for site investigation and preliminary design for the extension to Madam S H Ho Hostel of CUHK at Prince of Wales Hospital;
4. $4,000,000 for site investigation and preliminary design for development of the Faculty of Medicine of HKU at the existing site of Northcote Campus of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd);
5. $2,000,000 for site investigation and preliminary design for re-building the Lady Ho Tung Hall of Residence of HKU to provide 300 additional residential places for students;
6. $312,671,000 in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for full approval of a senior staff quarters project of CityU at Cornwall Street for which site investigation and preliminary design work has already been completed; and
7. $19,833,000 in MOD prices for full approval of a project of CUHK to renovate the University Administration Building and to reconstruct its fa‡ade and improve the entrance circulation for which no site investigation or preliminary design is required.

JUSTIFICATION AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

New projects for site investigation and design

3. The UGC recommends approval in principle for five new projects, with the necessary commitments and voting of funds to enable site investigation and preliminary design work to be carried out. The justifications and financial implications of each of these projects are detailed in paragraphs 4 to 17 below.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

New Subhead “Phase VI development - site investigation”

4. PolyU has submitted a proposal to provide additional accommodation for general and specialist teaching, research, staff and communal accommodation and additional carparking. The project involves the demolition of the existing Main Building (7 400m²) and the temporary Auxiliary Teaching Block (1 000m²), and the construction of a new complex to provide 17 100m² to accommodate the required facilities. The proposal will faciliate the reorganisation of all Central Administrative and Academic Support Services Departments, the academic departments of the Faculty of Business and Information Systems, and the provision of additional general teaching and communal accommodation.

5. The UGC supports PolyU’s proposal on the grounds that -

1. PolyU has a shortfall of about 9 758m² of space against the UGC planning standards. The project when completed will provide a net gain of 8 700m² of space, thereby meeting a large portion of the shortfall; and
2. the existing Main Building site is the only viable site left within the campus for re-development.

6. PolyU estimates the rough order of cost for the project at $376,130,000. It now seeks $5,000,000 to carry out site investigation and preliminary design work for the project. The UGC considers that the funds sought are reasonable.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

New Subhead “Student hostels - site investigation”

New Subhead “Extension to Madam S H Ho Hostel at Prince of Wales Hospital - site investigation”

7. The approved level of provision of government-funded hostel places at CUHK is 50% of the full-time student population. At present, only 19% of the full-time student population is provided with government-funded hostel places, while another 16% is provided with privately-funded hostel places. In order to meet the shortfall of government-funded hostel places, CUHK has proposed to build -

1. three new modular student hostels within its campus, each providing for 300 places, to accommodate 900 undergraduate and postgraduate students; and
2. an extension to the Madam S H Ho Hostel at Prince of Wales Hospital to provide an additional 100 residential places for the University’s medical students during their clinical years at the hospital.

The projects, if approved, will increase CUHK’s level of provision of government-funded hostel places from 19% to 29% of the full-time student population.

8. CUHK estimates the rough order of cost for the new 900-place student hostels project and the Extension to Madam S H Ho Hostel at Prince of Wales Hospital project at $165,300,000 and $16,500,000 respectively. In line with normal practice, we will require the University to cover at least 25% of the project cost from private donations. The Government’s share will therefore be $124,000,000 for the 900-place new student hostels project and $12,400,000 for the Extension to Madam S H Ho Hostel project. CUHK now seeks $2,000,000 and $300,000 for site investigation and preliminary design work for the new hostels and the extension project respectively. The UGC considers that the funds sought are reasonable.

The University of Hong Kong

New Subhead “Development of Faculty of Medicine at the existing site of Northcote Campus of the Hong Kong Institute of Education - site investigation”

9. HKU has proposed to construct new buildings for the Faculty of Medicine on the site currently occupied by the Northcote Campus of the HKIEd when the latter moves to the Institute’s new campus at Tai Po in September 1997. At present, the Faculty of Medicine carries out most of its clinical teaching and research in the Hospital Authority’s premises at Queen Mary Hospital. The remainder of its work, and notably its pre-clinical teaching, takes place in the University’s Patrick Manson, Li Shu Fan, Pauline Chan and Pathology Buildings, situated adjacent to Queen Mary Hospital and near the junction of Pokfulam Road and Sassoon Road. The Li Shu Fan Building is the largest of these University buildings and houses all the pre-clinical departments. HKU considers that the existing Medical Faculty premises, particularly the Li Shu Fan Building, are grossly inadequate for a modern medical faculty. The Li Shu Fan Building, constructed 30 years ago, suffers from a number of deficiencies in terms of safety standards, environmental standards and high operational costs.

10. In 1994, HKU carried out a technical survey of the Li Shu Fan Building. The survey identified a number of potential safety and environmental concerns which would require substantial expenditure to bring the building up to a level appropriate to a modern medical facility. While short term remedies are carried out on a regular basis, they are not considered cost-effective in the long term. The costs of renovating the building to an acceptable standard would be very high and the disturbance caused by vacating it for the duration of the work would seriously hinder the teaching, research and services work of the Faculty of Medicine.

11. Furthermore, the Medical Faculty is facing a severe space shortfall. Collectively, the existing Li Shu Fan Complex occupies a total net area of about 10 355m² in their separate buildings. This falls short of the Faculty’s current requirement of 18 437m² by 44%. The topography of the existing Faculty buildings and development potential available under the lease conditions, coupled with the need to continue in operation as a medical faculty, mean that it is not possible to meet the space shortfall on the existing site.

12. With increasing postgraduate teaching, the premises at Queen Mary Hospital are inadequate and must be supplemented to meet future needs. HKU considers that the Northcote Campus site provides the ideal opportunity in the longer term of providing a modern teaching and research facility essential to the functioning of the Medical Faculty. The development, when completed, will provide a net increase of 8 082m² of accommodation which will meet fully the Faculty’s current shortfall of space.

13. HKU has agreed that, upon the commencement of operation of the new Faculty of Medicine buildings, it will surrender to the Government the adjoining site of Li Shu Fan/Patrick Manson Buildings. In approving funding for the site investigation and design work, we will ask HKU to consider the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of retaining the existing Northcote Campus premises especially the new library block as part of the development of the site.

14. The project, if approved, will commence after the vacation of the Northcote Campus from the site around September 1997 and complete in three years’ time, i.e. in readiness for the academic year 2000-2001.

15. HKU estimates the rough order of cost for the project at $760,000,000. It now seeks $4,000,000 to carry out site investigation and preliminary design work for the project. The UGC supports the project and considers that the funds sought are reasonable.

New Subhead “Additional 300-place hall of residence - site investigation”

16. The approved level of provision of hostel places at HKU is 25% of the full-time student population. The present level of government-funded provision is 19% of the approved student number target, while another 4% is privately-funded. To make up for the shortfall of government-funded hostel places, HKU has proposed to rebuild the Lady Ho Tung Hall of Residence (currently with 100 hostel places) to provide 400 hostel places, a net increase of 300 hostel places. HKU plans to commence the project in 1997-98 for completion in 1999-2000. The project, if approved, will bring the provision of government-funded hostel places at HKU from 19% to 21% of the full-time student population.

17. HKU estimates the rough order of cost for the project at $114,200,000. In line with normal practice, we will require HKU to cover at least 25% of the project cost from private donations. The Government’s share will thus amount to $85,700,000. HKU now seeks $2,000,000 to carry out site investigation and preliminary design work for the project. The UGC considers that the funds sought are reasonable.

New projects for full approval

18. The UGC recommends full approval for two new projects, for which site investigation and preliminary design work has either been completed or is not required. The justification and financial implications of both projects are detailed in paragraphs 19 to 27 below.

The City University of Hong Kong

New Subhead “Senior staff quarters at Cornwall Street”

19. In January 1989, Members approved a new commitment of $2,000,000 for site investigation and preliminary design for the provision of an additional 120 staff quarters for senior and academic staff of the City Polytechnic (now CityU) . Due to the imposition of a height restriction on the proposed building site, CityU has to revise the design on an increased site area. As a result, we approved under delegated authority an increase in this commitment from $2,000,000 by $860,000 to $2,860,000 in January 1991 to meet the additional professional fees and associated costs.

20. Based on the results of the site investigation and preliminary design, CityU proposes to build 72 staff quarters on the site and requests full approval of a new project for the construction of the quarters at a cost of $213,000,000 at March 1995 prices, broken down as follows -

21. Having considered the comments of the Director of Architectural Services (DArchS), the UGC recommends full approval for the project on the following grounds -

1. there is no alternative suitable and available site either within the campus or in the vicinity to build the additional senior staff quarters;
2. the project, if approved, will help meet CityU’s present shortfall of on-campus senior staff quarters. The level of provision of on-campus senior staff quarters as accepted by UGC is up to 50% of the total eligible staff. Currently CityU has 174 such quarters (30%) and, if this project is approved, the total provision will become 246 (43%); and
3. the project will reduce CityU’s expenditure on rental for staff quarters by about $28,500,000 a year. The project cost of $213,000,000 will therefore be recovered within eight years.

22. The UGC accordingly recommends full approval of the project with a new commitment of $312,671,000 in MOD prices, made up as follows -

23. If Members approve the proposal, we will phase expenditure as follows -

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

New Subhead “Renovation to University Administration Building, façade and entrance circulation”

24. CUHK has submitted a proposal to renovate the University Administration Building, reconstruct its façade and improve the entrance circulation.

25. The University Administration Building was developed in the early 1970s, adopting fair-faced concrete design for its exterior as advocated at the time to blend with the rural country environment. Over the years, CUHK has experienced difficulties with maintenance as well as problems of water seepage and leaks through walls and windows, extensive mildewing of wall surfaces, and liability to corrosion to the structures’ steel reinforcement, etc. Being the administration headquarters of CUHK and the focal point of activities of the campus, CUHK has proposed a facelift to the building as well as some alteration and renovation to enhance the efficiency of the conference facilities and circulation nearby. The proposal is to reconstruct the building’s fa‡ade, provide a porch and ante-room to the council chamber, establish a proper reception hall, and re-arrange the concourse to the University Square where congregation and other major functions are usually held.

26. Having examined the proposal in consultation with DArchS, the UGC recommends full approval of the project at $19,833,000 in MOD prices, broken down as follows -

27. If Members approve this proposal, we will phase expenditure as follows -

Summary of total commitments

28. In summary, the UGC proposes total commitments of $345,804,000, made up as follows -

29. The UGC estimates that the cashflow for these projects will be as follows -

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

30. Under existing procedures, UGC-funded institutions submit capital proposals to the UGC annually. The UGC examines all these proposals carefully, with professional advice provided by DArchS who acts as UGC’s Technical Advisor (TA). It refers to the Government those proposals it supports, and may recommend -

1. a project for approval in principle, with voting of funds for site investigation and/or preliminary design work only;
2. full approval for a project after site investigation and preliminary design work have been completed. It will seek funds for the full project on the basis of the project estimate advised by the TA; and
3. a new project for full approval directly, if the nature of the project is such that no site investigation or preliminary design work is required. It will seek funds on the basis of the TA’s advice.

31. UGC confirms that projects it has recommended in the foregoing paragraphs do not involve the provision of additional space to the institutions concerned beyond that required for the achievement of the approved student number targets.

Education and Manpower Branch
December 1995

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