For discussion PWSC(95-96)79
on 24 January 1996

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Education - Primary
189EP - Primary school in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom
193EP - Second primary school in area 37, Tseung Kwan O
194EP - Second primary school in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 189EP, 193EP and 194EP to Category A at an estimated total cost of $184.5 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of two primary schools in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom and one primary school in area 37, Tseung Kwan O.

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PROBLEM
PROPOSAL
PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE
JUSTIFICATION
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
LAND ACQUISITION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
189EP - Primary school in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom
193EP - Second primary school in area 37, Tseung Kwan O
194EP - Second primary school in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom
A comparison of the standard cost of a primary school project with the estimated costs of the proposed school projects

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PROBLEM

The Director of Education (D of E) forecasts that by 1997, there will be shortfalls of 63 and 57 primary school classes in school zones 206 (Hung Hom) and 335 (Tseung Kwan O East) respectively.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S), with the support of the Secretary for Education and Manpower, proposes to upgrade the following projects to Category A at an estimated total cost of $184.5 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices -

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. All the three primary schools will be of the standard design. Each school 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. For school zone 206 (Hung Hom), there are at present six primary schools providing a total of 198 classes. D of E forecasts that the demand for primary school classes in this school zone will reach 237 classes in 1997 and the supply will decrease to 174 classes because we will convert an existing bi-sessional school to whole-day operation in 1996. There will be a shortfall of 63 classes. In order to alleviate the shortfall, we will require the two proposed whole-day primary schools to be completed by 1997.

5. For school zone 335 (Tseung Kwan O East), there are at present three primary schools providing a total of 120 classes. Upon the completion of 178EP “Primary school in area 37, Tseung Kwan O” in 1996 and 162EP “Two primary schools in area 59, Tseung Kwan O” in 1997, the supply of primary school classes in this school zone will increase to 210 classes. D of E forecasts that the demand for primary school places in this school zone will reach 267 classes in 1997. There will be a shortfall of 57 classes. In order to alleviate the shortfall, we will provide the proposed whole-day primary school in 1997. We will meet the remaining shortfall in the future school building programme.

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

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7. We estimate the capital costs of 189EP, 193EP and 194EP to be $58.6 million, $67.3 million and $58.6 million respectively in MOD prices (see paragraph 8 below), made up as follows -

A comparison of the standard cost of a primary school with the project estimates of these three schools is at Enclosure 4.

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 1999. We will tender the three projects under fixed-price lump-sum contracts because we can define the scope of works in advance, leaving little room for uncertainty.

10. We estimate the annually recurrent expenditure for each school to be $13.6 million. As the new schools will be aided schools, the individual sponsoring bodies will bear the costs of furniture and equipment, estimated at $1.9 million for each school.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

11. We consulted the Kowloon City District Board in May and June 1995 on 189EP and in November 1995 on 194EP, and the Sai Kung District Board in October 1995 on 193EP. The District Boards supported these school projects.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

12. The Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) vetted the Preliminary Environmental Reviews (PERs) conducted by D Arch S for 189EP and 194EP in November 1994 and June 1995 respectively. The PERs concluded that traffic noise from adjacent local roads would not have a major impact on the two schools.

13. DEP vetted the PER conducted by D Arch S for 193EP in July 1995. The PER concluded that the school would be subject to traffic noise impact in excess of the standards stipulated in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines. The Director of Territory Development (DTD) has undertaken to construct a 4-metre high noise barrier and provide low noise surfacing along road P1 as noise mitigation measures for the school and other affected residential buildings. DTD will implement these measures under 188CL “Tseung Kwan O development, Hang Hau, noise barrier and public transport interchange” and 538TH “Tseung Kwan O development, Hang Hau, remaining roads, footbridges and subways” at an estimated cost of $26 million at December 1994 prices.

14. 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

15. For 189EP and 194EP, the site is held under a lease to the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company Limited, which will surrender the site to the Government before March 1996. No resumption or clearance costs are required. For 193EP, the project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

16. We included 189EP in Category B in April 1995, and 193EP and 194EP in October 1995.

17. We have completed site investigations for the three projects. We have engaged consultants to carry out structural engineering design, structural engineering and quantity surveying documentation for the pre-construction stage of these projects at an estimated total cost of $2.49 million, which we have charged to the block allocation Subhead 3009GX "Consultants' fees for building projects". We are finalizing other working drawings and tender documents using in-house staff resources. We plan to start the construction works for the three projects in May 1996 for completion in August 1997.

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Enclosure 1 to PWSC(95-96)79

189EP - Primary school in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom

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 above are based on the fee proposals submitted by the consultants who have been selected through the usual competitive system to carry out precontract preparatory work on a lump sum basis. Subject to approval, the same consultants will be employed for site supervision and contract administration.
4. The estimated consultants’ fees represent 1.7% of the total project estimate, and cover post-contract site supervision services and contract administration services for the quantity surveying and structural engineering disciplines.

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Enclosure 2 to PWSC(95-96)79

193EP - Second primary school in area 37, Tseung Kwan O

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 above are based on the fee proposals submitted by the consultants who have been selected through the usual competitive system to carry out precontract preparatory work on a lump sum basis. Subject to approval, the same consultants will be employed for site supervision and contract administration.
4. The estimated consultants’ fees represent 1.9% of the total project estimate, and cover post-contract site supervision services and contract administration services for the quantity surveying and structural engineering disciplines.

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Enclosure 3 to PWSC(95-96)79

194EP - Second primary school in Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom

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 above are based on the fee proposals submitted by the consultants who have been selected through the usual competitive system to carry out precontract preparatory work on a lump sum basis. Subject to approval, the same consultants will be employed for site supervision and contract administration.
4. The estimated consultants’ fees represent 1.7% of the total project estimate, and cover post-contract site supervision services and contract administration services for the quantity surveying and structural engineering disciplines.

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Enclosure 4 to PWSC(95-96)79

A comparison of the standard cost of a primary school project with the estimated costs of the proposed school projects

* 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. For 189EP and 194EP, the piling costs are based on 90 nos. of steel H-piles of an average depth of 32 metres.

   For 193EP, the piling cost is based on 150 nos. of steel H-piles of an average depth of 32 metres. A greater number of piles are required to suit the soil condition of the site.

2. For 189EP and 194EP, the costs for overall drainage and external works are lower due to smaller site areas.

   For 193EP, the cost for drainage and external works is based on a site area of 8 000 square metres including 1 380 square metres for a drainage reserve.

3. Consultancy services for quantity surveying and structural engineering disciplines for the three projects are required.

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