For discussion PWSC(97-98)24
on 21 May 1997

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 711 - HOUSING
Territory Development
Civil Engineering - Land development

550CL - Tin Shui Wai further development - site formation in areas 101 to 108, 109 (part), 110 and 111

    Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 550CL to Category A at an estimated cost of $78.7 million in money-of-the-day prices for carrying out the site formation works in areas 101 to 108, 109 (part), 110 and 111 in the Tin Shui Wai Reserve Zone.

PROBLEM

We need to form the land in the Tin Shui Wai (TSW) Reserve Zone to appropriate levels to provide sites for housing developments and supporting engineering infrastructure.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Territory Development (DTD), with the support of the Secretary for Housing, proposes to upgrade 550CL to Category A at an estimated cost of $78.7 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the site formation works of areas 101 to 108, 109 (part), 110 and 111 in the TSW Reserve Zone.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The scope of the project comprises -

  1. site formation works of about 89 hectares of land in the southern part (areas 101 to 108, 109 (part), 110 and 111) of the TSW Reserve Zone;

  2. construction of the associated temporary drainage channels and haul roads; and

  3. implementation of an environmental monitoring and auditing programme.

JUSTIFICATION

4. The Administration decided in 1994 to further develop Tin Shui Wai as a major area for additional housing supply. In this regard, we have designated about 23 hectares of land in areas 3, 30 and 31 in the TSW Development Zone and about 70 hectares of land (out of a total land area of 213 hectares) in the TSW Reserve Zone (land to the north of the Development Zone) for further development into residential areas. Upon full development, these areas will accommodate about 55 000 housing units for a population of about 170 000 people.

5. We formed area 3 under 298CL "Tin Shui Wai development, package 3, part II, land formation and main drainage" and areas 30 & 31 under 312CL "Tin Shui Wai development, package 3, part II, land formation and main drainage - land bank". However, we only formed the Reserve Zone to temporary levels as there was no determined use for the site when we reclaimed the area between 1990 and 1991.

6. In accordance with the Public Housing Development Programme, the Director of Housing (D of H) aims to make available about 46 000 public housing units in areas 101, 102, 105, 106, 110 and 111 of the Reserve Zone and in areas 3, 30 and 31 of the Development Zone by the end of the year 2001. In addition to the public housing sites, we also need to form areas 103, 104, 107, 108 and 109 (part) in the Reserve Zone to provide land for the remaining 9 000 units of other types of housing, open space and supporting government, institutional and community facilities.

7. In order to meet the public housing production target, D of H has to commence the piling works on the public housing sites in stages from late 1997 to mid 1998. To achieve this tight programme, we need to commence the site formation works in July 1997 for completion of these sites in stages from December 1997 to mid 1998 so that D of H may commence the piling works immediately thereafter.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8. We estimate the capital cost of the project to be $78.7 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 9 below), made up as follows -



$ million


(a) Earthworks


36.9


(b) Temporary drainage channels and haul roads


12.8


(c) Environmental mitigation measures and monitoring


2.8


(d) Consultants’ fees for


9.8


(i) construction stage

(ii) resident site staff costs

2.1
7.7



(e) Contingencies


6.2
_____

Sub-total


68.5

(at December
1996 prices)

(f) Inflation allowance


10.2
_____

Total


78.7
_____

(in MOD prices)

Due to insufficient in-house staff, DTD proposes to employ site staff through the consultants to supervise the project. A breakdown by man months of the estimate for consultants’ fees is at the Enclosure.

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

Year

$ million
(Dec 1996)

Price
adjustment
factor

$ million
(MOD)

1997 - 98

28.0

1.06750

29.9

1998 - 99

25.0

1.16358

29.1

1999 - 2000

15.5
_____

1.26830

19.7
_____


68.5
_____


78.7
_____

10. We have derived the MOD estimate on the basis of the Government’s forecast of trend labour and construction prices for the period 1997 to 2000. We will entrust the site formation works of area 102 to D of H for implementation under his standard remeasurement piling contract for this site to ensure early availability of the site for building works. We will tender the remaining site formation works under a standard remeasurement contract because the quantity of earthwork may vary according to the actual ground conditions. We will not provide for inflation adjustment in this contract as the contract period will not exceed 21 months.

11. The proposed site formation works will not give rise to annually recurrent expenditure. Upon completion of the site formation works, we will hand over the sites to D of H and the civil contractors for the respective follow-on building and engineering infrastructure works.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

12. We consulted the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Yuen Long District Board on the proposed site formation works as part of the overall engineering infrastructure project for the TSW further development on 7 January 1997. Members had no objection to the proposed works.

13. On 25 July 1996, we consulted the Environmental Improvement Committee of the Yuen Long District Board on the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study in respect of the site formation works. Members had no adverse comments on the findings.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

14. In November 1995, we employed consultants to carry out an EIA1 to assess the environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the engineering infrastructure for the TSW further development, including the site formation works under this project. The study recommended some mitigation measures which could contain the environmental impact of the proposed site formation works within the established standards and guidelines. These measures include the provision of sediment ponds, oil interceptors, temporary drainage channels and bunds, watering haul roads, using silenced equipment and quiet working methods. We will fully incorporate into the detailed design and works contract the mitigation measures and the environmental monitoring and auditing (EM&A) programme as recommended in the EIA study. We will also ensure their implementation during the site formation period. The estimated cost of the mitigation measures and EM&A programme is about $2.8 million and has been included in the overall cost of the project.

1 An Enironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the further development in Tin Shui Wai was conducted under 551CL.

15. We presented the findings and recommendations of the full EIA report to the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) on 21 April 1997. ACE accepted the findings and recommendations of the report with no adverse comments.

LAND ACQUISITION

16. This project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

17. We upgraded 550CL to Category B in January 1996.

18. We engaged consultants in November 1995 under 551CL "Tin Shui Wai further development - engineering investigations" to carry out a study to define the public works that are required to support the proposed housing development referred to in paragraph 6 above. As part of the study, the consultant has conducted a preliminary design of the proposed site formation works in areas 101 to 108, 109 (part), 110 and 111.

19. We subsequently engaged consultants to undertake the detailed design for the proposed site formation works and charged the cost of $3.8 million to the block allocation Subhead B100HX, "Minor housing development related works, and studies and investigations for items in Category D of the Public Works Programme". The consultants have completed the detailed design and drawings.

20. We plan to start the site formation works of area 102 in early July 1997 for completion in December 1997. We will commence the works for the other areas in July 1997 for completion by September 1998. We will hand over the formed sites to D of H in phases commencing from February 1998 to tie in with the public housing development programme.

Housing Branch
May 1997
(HH516)

Enclosure to PWSC(97-98)24

550CL - Tin Shui Wai further development - site formation in areas 101 to 108, 109 (part), 110, and 111

Breakdown of the estimate for consultants’ fees

Consultants’ staff costs


Estimated man months

Average MPS salary point

Multiplier factor

Estimated fee
($ million)

(a)Consultants’ fees for construction stage






(i)contract administration

Professional
Technical

7
5

40
16

3.0
3.0

1.2
0.3

(ii) preparation of as-built drawings

Professional
Technical

1
7

40
16

3.0
3.0

0.2
0.4

(b) Resident site staff costs

Professional
Technical

28
113

40
16

2.1
2.1

3.3
4.4
_____

Total consultants’ staff costs




9.8
____

MPS = Master Pay Scale

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. A multiplier factor of 2.1 is applied to the average MPS point in the case of site staff supplied by the consultants. (At 1.4.96, MPS pt. 40 = $55,390 p.m. and MPS pt. 16 = $18,595 p.m.)

  2. The figures given above are based on the lump sum fees tendered by the consultants under Agreement No. CE 36/96 "Tin Shui Wai development - design and construction of Reserve Zone south site formation".

Last Updated on 16 August 1999