For discussion PWSC(95-96)68
on 10 January 1996

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Education - Tertiary/other
55ET - Practical school at Mei Lai Road, Shamshuipo

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 55ET to Category A at an estimated cost of $89 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of a practical school at Mei Lai Road, Shamshuipo.

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PROBLEM
PROPOSAL
PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE
JUSTIFICATION
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
LAND ACQUISITION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
55ET - Practical school at Mei Lai Road, Shamshuipo

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PROBLEM

The Director of Education (D of E) estimates that there is a territory-wide shortfall of practical school (PS) places.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S), with the support of the Secretary for Education and Manpower, proposes to upgrade 55ET to Category A at an estimated cost of $89 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of a PS at Mei Lai Road, Shamshuipo.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The proposed PS will have a school section and a 45-place boarding section. The school section will comprise -

1. 15 classrooms;
2. nine workshops/special rooms;
3. two interview rooms;
4. two staff rooms;
5. a staff common room;
6. a student activity centre;
7. an assembly hall; and
8. ancillary facilities.

4. The boarding section will comprise -

1. three self-contained living units for boarders with attached sleep-in rooms for staff;
2. a living quarters for warden;
3. a central kitchen;
4. a dining/activity room; and
5. ancillary facilities.

JUSTIFICATION

5. D of E estimates the territory-wide demand for PS places to be 1 800. At present, there are two PSs, namely the Hong Kong Sea School (on Hong Kong Island), the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Practical School (in the New Territories West). They provide a total of 900 places. To meet the shortfall, we plan to build two additional PSs in line with the recommendations of the Education Commission Report No. 4. The proposed school located at Mei Lai Road, Shamshuipo will provide 450 places. We will build the other school in the New Territories East.

6. Due to insufficient in-house staff resources, D Arch S proposes to engage consultants to undertake contract administration and site supervision for the construction stage.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7. We estimate the capital cost of the project to be $89 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 8 below), made up as follows -

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

9. We derive the MOD estimate on the basis of the Government’s forecasts of trend labour and construction prices over the period between 1996 and 2000. We will tender the works under a fixed-price lump-sum contract because we can define clearly the scope of the works in advance, leaving little room for uncertainty.

10. We estimate the annually recurrent expenditure to be $17.2 million for the operation of this school.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

11. We consulted the Sham Shui Po District Board in January 1994. The District Board supported this school project.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

12. The Director of Environmental Protection vetted a Preliminary Environmental Review in December 1994. The findings indicated that the proposed school would be exposed to adverse traffic noise from Mei Lai Road and Castle Peak Road in excess of the noise standards in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines. We will position the teaching and residential rooms in locations which are subject to less adverse traffic impact. We will provide good quality windows and air-conditioning to all noise sensitive rooms to minimise traffic noise impact at an estimated cost of $1.9 million. We have included this cost in the project estimate. There will be a nine-metre buffer distance between the classroom block and Mei Lai Road to alleviate impact due to traffic emissions.

13. 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 contracts.

LAND ACQUISITION

14. This project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

15. To cater for the need of junior secondary students who have low motivation towards the common-core curriculum of ordinary secondary schools, the Education Commission recommended in its Report No. 4 the setting up of PSs. The target students are of the 12 - 14 age group with normal intelligence but low motivation.

16. PSs provide students with a curriculum with more emphasis on practical experience than academic knowledge. They aim at arousing students’ interest and developing a positive attitude in learning. The curriculum comprises about 55% academic subjects and 45% cultural and technical/practical subjects. On completion of Secondary Three in PSs, the students are prepared for senior secondary education in ordinary schools, or vocational training in technical institutes, or open employment.

17. Each PS accommodates 15 classes from Secondary One to Secondary Three with a school capacity of 450 students. The small class size of 30 students enables teachers to provide intensive and individual support for students. There is also an enhanced school social worker provision at the ratio of one school social worker to 150 students.

18. We upgraded this project to Category B in May 1995. We have completed site investigations and engaged a consultant for design and preparation of tender documents at an estimated cost of $4.97 million, which is charged to the block allocation Subhead 3009GX “Consultants’ fees for building projects”. We have completed the detailed design work. We plan to start works in March 1996 for completion in December 1997.

1 -- The site is bounded by steep slopes from Ching Cheung Road and Castle Peak Road to the north and east. Slope stabilization work is required by the Geotechnical Engineering Office.
2 -- We need a geotechnical engineering consultant to carry out site supervision for the slope stabilization works.

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Enclosure to PWSC(95-96)68

55ET - Practical school at Mei Lai Road, Shamshuipo

Breakdown of the estimate for consultants’ fees

Notes

1. The average estimated cost per professional man month is about equivalent to a professional on MPS point 44.
2. The average estimated cost per technical man month is about equivalent to a Technical Officer on MPS point 20.
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 system.
4. The estimated consultants’ fees represent 4.89% of the total project estimate, and cover post contract site supervision services, geotechnical assessment and contract administration services for all disciplines, as well as certain specialist works.

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