ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEEOF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS

Education - Primary

223EP - Primary school in area 25, Tsuen Wan

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 223EP to Category A at an estimated cost of $54.8 million in money-of-the day prices for the construction of a primary school in area 25, Tsuen Wan

PROBLEM
PROPOSAL
PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE
JUSTIFICATION
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
LAND ACQUISITION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Breakdown of estimates for consultants' fees
A comparison of the standard cost of a primary school project
Checklist for PWSC Submissions

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PROBLEM

The Director of Education (D of E) forecasts that there will be a shortfall of 83 primary school classes in school zone 305 (Tsuen Wan East and Shek Wai Kok) by 1997.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S), with the support of the Secretary for Education and Manpower, proposes to upgrade 223EP to Category A at an estimated cost of $54.8 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of a primary school in area 25, Tsuen Wan.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The proposed primary school will be of a standard design. It will comprise -

1. 30 classrooms;
2. four special rooms;
3. three remedial teaching rooms;
4. a guidance activity/interview room;
5. two interview rooms;
6. a staff common room;
7. a student activity centre;
8. a library; and
9. an assembly hall and ancillary facilities.

JUSTIFICATION

4. There are at present five primary schools which provide a total of 114 classrooms in school zone 305 (Tsuen Wan East and Shek Wai Kok). Taking into account the additional school places required to implement whole-day schooling, D of E forecasts that the demand for primary school classes in this school zone will reach 197 classes in 1997, resulting in a shortfall of 83 classes. The proposed school which will come into operation in 1997 will alleviate the shortfall by providing an additional 30 whole-day classes. We intend to meet the remaining shortfall in the future school building programme.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5. We estimate the capital cost of the project to be $54.8 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 6 below), made up as follows -

A breakdown by man-months of the estimate for consultants' fees is at
Enclosure 1. A comparison of the standard cost of a primary school project with the estimated cost of the proposed school project is at Enclosure 2.

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

7. We have derived the MOD estimate on the basis of the Government's forecasts of trend labour and construction prices for the period 1996 to 1999. We will tender the works under a fixed-price lump-sum contract because we can clearly define the scope of works in advance, leaving little room for uncertainty.

8. We estimate the annually recurrent expenditure for the school to be $13.6 million. As the new school will be an aided school, the sponsoring body will bear the costs of furniture and equipment, estimated at $2.1 million.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

9. We consulted the Tsuen Wan District Board in March 1996. The District Board supported the school project.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

10. The Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) vetted the Preliminary Environmental Review conducted by consultants of D Arch S
for 223EP in February 1996. The Review concluded that the school will be subject to traffic noise impact in excess of the standards stipulated in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines. We will provide air-conditioning and window insulation for all rooms in the special room block and construct a
3-metre high barrier wall along the northern, eastern and part of the southern boundaries of the school as noise mitigation measures. We have included the estimated cost of $0.7 million for the mitigation measures in the project estimate.

11. For short-term construction impact, we will control dust and site run-off nuisance during construction to within established guidelines/standards through the implementation of mitigation measures in relevant contract.

LAND ACQUISITION

12. The project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

13. We included 223EP in Category B in April 1996.

14. We have completed site investigations for the project. We have engaged consultants of the quantity surveying discipline for pre-contract preparatory work at an estimated cost of $0.3 million. We have charged this amount to the block allocation Subhead 3100GX "Project feasibility studies, minor investigations and consultants' fees selected from items in Category D of the Public Works Programme". We have completed the detailed design. We plan to start construction works in August 1996 for completion in December 1997. D of E plans to advance the opening of the school to September 1997. As a tentative arrangement for the period from September to December 1997, the school will use some of the classrooms of a new primary school in area 2, Tsuen Wan which is scheduled for completion in August 1997.

(LL87)

223EP - Primary school in area 25, Tsuen Wan

Breakdown of estimates for consultants' fees

Notes

1. A multiplier factor of 3 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 1.4.95, MPS pt. 40 = $51,440 p.m. and MPS pt. 16 = $17,270 p.m.).

2. Out-of-pocket expenses are the actual costs incurred. The consultants are not entitled to any additional payment for overheads or profit in respect of this item.

3. 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 we have selected the consultants through the usual competitive lump sum fee bid system.

A comparison of the standard cost of a primary school project

with the estimated cost of 223EP

* Assumptions for standard cost

1. No site formation work/geotechnical work is required as it is normally carried out under a separate engineering vote.

2. Piling cost is based on 110 nos. of steel H-piles of an average depth of 30 metres.

3. Cost for drainage and external works is for a standard school of 6 200 square metres built on a flat site. No diversion of existing utilities or noise mitigation measures are required.

4. No consultancy services are required.

5. Furniture and equipment cost is excluded as it is usually borne by the sponsoring body.

Notes

1. This is based on 135 nos. of steel H-piles of an average depth of 35 metres as the site is located on reclaimed land.

2. This includes $0.4 million for the provision of air-conditioning as noise mitigation measures.

3. Although $0.3 million for the construction of a 3-metre high barrier wall has been included, the cost for drainage and external works is lower due to smaller site area.

4. Consultancy services for quantity surveying discipline is required for this project.

(LL87)

Checklist for PWSC Submissions

223EP - Primary School in Area 25, Tsuen Wan

(a) Necessity to go to PWSC

PWSC's endorsement is necessary for upgrading the project to Category A.

(b) Authority

The provision of primary school places to meet the shortfall is an established policy.

(c) Funding

An amount of $51.851 million at December 1995 prices has been earmarked for this project in the 1995 RAE.

(d) Political assessment

We consulted the Tsuen Wan District Board in March 1996. The District Board supported the school project.

(e) Clearance with District Officer

As the DB supports the project, SEM considers that clearance with District Officer is not required.

(f) Consultation with LegCo Panel

No consultation is required.

(g) Lobbying requirements

No lobbying is required.

(h) Fallback option

It is unlikely that the project is not supported by Members. We propose this project to be put to vote if there are some objections.

(LL87)

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