For discussion
on 14 April 1999
PWSC(1999-2000)4
ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE
HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Support - Intra-government services
| 61GI - | Government Institution Community accommodation in development at Fanling Sheung Shui Town Lot 195, area 19, Luen Wo Hui, Fanling |
Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 61GI to Category A at an estimated cost of $67.6 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of Government/Institution/ Community accommodation in the development at Fanling Sheung Shui Town Lot 195, area 19, Luen Wo Hui, Fanling.
PROBLEM
There are insufficient community hall, children and youth centre and environmental resource centre facilities in the Fanling / Sheung Shui new town.
PROPOSAL
2. The Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S), with the support of the Secretary for Home Affairs, proposes to upgrade 61GI to Category A at an estimated cost of $67.6 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of Government/Institution/Community (GIC) accommodation in the development at Fanling Sheung Shui Town Lot 195, area 19, Luen Wo Hui, Fanling.
PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE
3. The scope of the project comprises the provision of a community hall which includes a multi-purpose hall, a conference room, a store room, an office and other ancillary areas; a children and youth centre cum study/reading room and an environmental resource centre (ERC). The gross floor area of the community hall, children and youth centre and the environmental resource centre components are 1 215 square metres; 974 square metres and 726 square metres respectively. These facilities will be included as part of a composite private residential cum GIC development at the site in Fanling which has been included in the land disposal programme for disposal in April 1999. We propose to entrust the construction of these GIC facilities to the successful bidder with funding borne by the Government as one of the conditions of the land sale.
JUSTIFICATION
Community building facilities
4. There are insufficient GIC facilities in the Fanling / Sheung Shui new town. The North District has a population of about 260 000 of which about 220 000 are concentrated in the Fanling / Sheung Shui new town. At present, this area is served by one1 community hall at Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling and a Regional Council auditorium at Sheung Shui. The 200-seat Cheung Wah Community Hall is the only low cost public venue in the Cheung Wah area and vicinity available for holding community building activities. It has a high overall utilisation rate of 70%. This restricts the ability of residents of Luen Wo Hui, Fanling to hold more community building activities indoors even though they have a high degree of participation in community activities and have a festive tradition. Moreover, North District's Fight Crime Committee, Civic Education Committee, Respect for the Elderly Committee and Cultural Committee organise a variety of regular community involvement activities for the local population and have a need for higher-capacity community hall facility (450 seats) for such activities. In view of the large population and the community aspiration for the provision of community building facilities, we propose to provide a community hall at the area 19, Fanling development to serve Luen Wo Hui and nearby residents. It represents the only possibility for community hall development as the area is already fully developed.
Children and Youth centre (CYC) cum study/reading room
5. Statistics from the 1996 By-census showed that the Luen Wo Hui and Cheung Wah Estate area has a youth population of around 12 500. The area is served by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Cheung Wah CYC at Cheung Wah Estate at present. However, with reference to the planning ratio of one CYC for a youth population of about 6 500, the area should be provided with another CYC cum study/reading room to meet the service demands. Therefore, we propose to provide a CYC at area 19, Fanling to improve the service provision in the Luen Wo Hui and Cheung Wah area.
Environmental resource centre
6. The 1989 White Paper on the Environment titled "Pollution in Hong Kong - A Time to Act" noted the low level of environmental awareness in Hong Kong. The establishment of Environmental Resource Centres (ERC) is part of the government's effort to stimulate community awareness on environmental issues. These centres also aim at explaining government policy programmes and encouraging public participation for improving the environment. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has set up two ERCs in Wanchai and Tsuen Wan respectively. EPD plans to set up four additional ERC in various districts in order to provide the general public with better access to environmental information. These centres are planned to be located in Kowloon East, New Territories (NT) East, NT North and NT West. We propose to provide an ERC at the site in area 19, Fanling because of its central location in relation to the population of the Fanling / Sheung Shui new town.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7. We estimate the cost of the proposed GIC facilities to be $67.6 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 9 below), made up as follows -
| $ million
|
|---|
| (a) Piling | | 2.2
|
| (b) Building | | 30.4
|
| (c) Building services | | 14.3
|
| (d) Drainage and external works | | 1.0
|
| (e) Furniture and equipment | | 3.2
|
| (f) Consultants' fees for | | 4.8
|
|
A breakdown by man months of the estimate for consultants' fees is at the Enclosure.
8. The construction floor area (CFA) of 61GI is 2 915 square metres. The construction unit cost of the superstructure, represented by building and
building services costs, is $15,334 per square metre at December 1998 prices. We consider this reasonable compared with other similar projects built by the government.
9. Subject to approval, we will phase the expenditure as follows -
| Year | $ million
(Dec 1998) | Pricead
justment
factor | $ million
(MOD)
|
|---|
| 2001 - 02 | 58.3 | 1.09934 | 64.1
|
| 2002 - 03 | 3.1 | 1.13782 | 3.5
|
| ______ | | ______
|
| 61.4 | | 67.6
|
| ______ | | ______
|
10. We derived the MOD estimates on the basis of the Government's latest forecast of trend labour and construction prices for the period 2001 to 2003. We will entrust the project to the successful bidder under a fixed-price lump-sum contract at which 95% of the payment will be paid on practical completion of the project, i.e. when the building is ready for occupation, and the remaining 5% paid on completion of making good defects. This is the common method of payment adopted in government projects entrusted to private parties as we can clearly define the scope of works in advance, leaving little room for uncertainty.
11. We estimate the additional annually recurrent expenditure of the project to be $3.12 million.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
12. We consulted the North Provisional District Board on 10 December 1998. Members of the Board supported the project.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
13. D Arch S completed a Preliminary Environmental Review (PER) for 61GI in March 1998. The Director of Environmental Protection vetted the PER and agreed that an Environmental Impact Assessment would not be necessary. We will control noise, dust and site run-off nuisances during construction through the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures in the relevant works contracts.
LAND ACQUISITION
14. The project does not require land acquisition.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
15. We upgraded 61GI to Category B in September 1998. Under the Conditions of Sale, the successful bidder is obliged to complete the GIC accommodation within 30 months from the date of agreement. On the assumption that the site can be disposed of in April 1999, the anticipated start and completion dates of the GIC component are December 1999 and December 2001 respectively.
16. In addition to the GIC facilities funded under 61GI, the development at area 19 will also include Regional Council funded facilities including a wet market, an indoor games hall and a library. These facilities will similarly be entrusted to the developer under the Conditions of Sale.
URGENCY
17. We must obtain Finance Committee's approval of this project in April 1999 so that tenders can be invited for the subject site on schedule according to the land sale programme. In view of the urgency, and subject to Members' approval, we intend to submit this item to Finance Committee for consideration at its next meeting to be held on 23 April 1999 rather than at the meeting on 7 May 1999 in accordance with normal procedure.
--------------------------------------
Home Affairs Bureau
April 1999
(PWSC0100/WIN4)
Enclosure to PWSC(1999-2000)4
61GI - Government Institution Community accommodation in the development at Fanling Sheung Shui
Town Lot 195, area 19, Luen Wo Hui, Fanling
DETAILS OF CONSULTANTS' FEES
Breakdown of estimates for consultants' fees
| Item/Category | | Estimated
man
months
| Average
MPS
salary
point | Multiplier
factor | Estimatedfee
($ million)
|
|---|
| (I) Detailed design
|
| (a) Architectural discipline | Professional
Technical | 4.0
13.9 | 40
16 | 2.4
2.4 | 0.60
0.70
|
| (b) Structural and geotechnical discipline | Professional
Technical | 2.0
5.9
| 40
16 | 2.4
2.4 | 0.30
0.30
|
| (c) Project management discipline
| Professional
Technical
| 2.0
5.9
| 40
16 | 2.4
2.4 | 0.30
0.30
|
| _____
|
| Sub-total | 2.50
|
| _____
|
| (II) Contract administration
|
|
* MPS = Master Pay Scale
Notes
1. A multiplier factor of 2.4 is applied to the average MPS point to arrive at the full staff costs including the consultants' overheads and profit, as the staff will be employed in the consultants' offices. (At 1.4.1998, MPS point 40 = $62,780 p.m. and MPS point 16 = $21,010 p.m.). A multiplier factor of 1.7 is applied in the case of site staff supplied by the consultant.
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 actual fees when the successful bidder has selected the consultant.
(PWSC0100/WIN4)
1There are two other small community halls at Ta Kwu Ling and Sha Tau Kok in the North District. These primarily serve the rural population in those localities and are relatively inaccessible to the population in the new town.
