For discussion PWSC(97-98)32
on 21 May 1997

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Education - Secondary
217ES - Secondary school in area 17, Tung Chung
218ES - Secondary school in Chai Wan Estate
219ES - Secondary school in area 14B, Shatin

    Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 217ES, 218ES and 219ES to Category A at an estimated total cost of $263.6 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of three secondary schools in the territory.

PROBLEM

The Director of Education (D of E) forecasts that there will be a shortfall of 5011 secondary school classes in the territory by the year 1999.

1 The forecast has been updated since the submission of PWSC(97-98)15 for 213ES on 9 May 1997. The update has taken into account the latest data on present and projected enrolment.

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 $263.6 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices -

Project Estimate
$ million
(MOD)
(a) 217ES - Secondary school in area 17, Tung Chung100.9
(b) 218ES - Secondary school in Chai Wan Estate80.0
(c) 219ES - Secondary school in area 14B, Shatin82.7
_____
Total263.6
_____

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The proposed schools are standard design school buildings. Each school will have -

  1. 26 classrooms;

  2. 14 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. an assembly hall; and

  9. ancillary facilities.

JUSTIFICATION

4. D of E forecasts that there will be a shortfall of 501 secondary school classrooms in the territory by the year 1999. Upon the completion of 211ES "Secondary school in area 31, Tin Shui Wai", 202ES "Third secondary school in area 56, Tseung Kwan O", 209ES "Two secondary schools in area 56, Tseung Kwan O" and 213ES "Secondary school in area 20, Fanling" 2) in the year 1999, the provision of secondary school classes in the territory will be increased by 130 classes, resulting in a shortfall of 371 classes. As a temporary measure to meet the remaining shortfall, we are adopting floating classes in secondary schools. In accordance with the Government policy to reduce class size and phase out floating classes in Secondary One to Secondary Five, we propose to construct three secondary schools in the territory to reduce the shortfall. We are planning further schools to meet the remaining shortfall.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5. We estimate the capital costs of 217ES, 218ES and 219ES to be $100.9 million, $80.0 million and $82.7 million respectively in MOD prices, made up as follows -


    217ES

    218ES

    219ES



    $ million


    (a) Piling

    16.8

    10.0

    13.1


    (b) Building

    40.6

    33.2

    33.2


    (c) Building services

    9.0

    8.0

    7.5


    (d) Drainage and external works

    9.1

    8.3

    7.6


    (e) Contingencies

    7.4

    5.8

    6.0



    _____

    ____

    ____


    Sub-total

    82.9

    65.3

    67.4

    (at December
    1996 prices)

    (f) Inflation allowance

    18.0

    14.7

    15.3



    _____

    ____

    ____


    Total

    100.9

    80.0

    82.7

    (in MOD prices)

    _____

    ____

    ____


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

6. Subject to approval, we will phase the expenditure for 217ES, 218ES and 219ES as follows -

Year

$ million
(Dec 1996)

Price
adjustment
factor

$ million
(MOD)


217ES

218ES

219ES


217ES

218ES

219ES

1997-98

1.8

1.0

0.8

1.06750

1.9

1.1

0.9

1998-99

44.3

31.6

32.0

1.16358

51.5

36.8

37.2

1999-2000

29.4

26.9

28.6

1.26830

37.3

34.1

36.3

2000-01

7.4

5.8

6.0

1.38244

10.2

8.0

8.3

____

____

____


_____

_____

____

82.9

65.3

67.4


100.9

80.0

82.7

____

____

____


_____

_____

____

7. We have derived the MOD estimates on the basis of the Government’s forecast of trend labour and construction prices for the period 1997 to 2001. We will tender the works under fixed-price lump-sum contracts because we can clearly define the scope of works in advance, leaving little room for uncertainty.

8. We estimate the annually recurrent expenditure for each school to be $33.4 million. As the new schools will be operated as aided schools, the individual sponsoring bodies will bear the costs of furniture and equipment, estimated at $6.1 million for each school.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

9. We consulted the Islands District Board and the Community Building Committee of the Eastern District Board on 217ES and 218ES respectively in April 1997, and the Education and Welfare Committee of the Shatin District Board on 219ES in May 1997. All supported the school projects.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

10. The Director of Environmental Protection vetted the Preliminary Environmental Reviews (PERs) completed by the consultants of D Arch S on 217ES and 218ES in December 1996, and 219ES in November 1996. The PERs concluded that all the three proposed schools would be subject to traffic noise impact in excess of the maximum allowable levels stipulated in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines. We will implement the following environmental mitigation measures and have included their costs in the project estimates -

Project No.

Mitigation Measures

Estimated Cost
$ million
(at Dec 1996 prices)

217ES

provision of fixed windows to three laboratories on the south facing facade

-

218ES

(a) construction of 2.7-metre high solid boundary walls facing Chai Wan Road, San Ha Street and the existing urban park;

2.1

(b) provision of Type I well-gasketted windows 3 and air-conditioning to all teaching rooms of the special room block, and Type II well-gasketted windows 4 and air- conditioning to all teaching rooms of the classroom block; and



(c) provision of fixed windows to the library, the computer room and 18 teaching rooms


219ES

(a) provision of Type I well-gasketted windows and air-conditioning to 14 teaching rooms on the north, west and south facing facades of the special room block;

1.3

(b) provision of fixed windows to 11 teaching rooms, the library and the computer room;



(c) provision of a 2.7-metre high solid fence wall along Ngan Shing Street.


3 Type I windows provide additional noise insulation through the use of well-gasketted windows and 6mm thick glass pane.

4 Type II windows provide additional noise insulation through the use of well-gasketted windows and 8mm thick glass pane.

11. We will control noise, dust and site run-off nuisances during construction to comply with established guidelines/standards through the implementation of mitigation measures in relevant contracts.

LAND ACQUISITION

12. The three projects do not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

13. We upgraded 217ES, 218ES and 219ES to Category B in April 1997.

14. We have completed site investigations and are finalising the working drawings and tender documents for the three projects using in-house staff resources. We plan to start the construction works for 217ES and 218ES in December 1997, and 219ES in January 1998 for completion in August 1999.

Education and Manpower Branch
May 1997

(DD1104)

Enclosure to PWSC(97-98)32

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

Standard
cost*

217ES

218ES

219ES


(a) Piling

10.0

16.8

10.0

13.1

(see notes A and B)

(b) Building

32.5

40.6

33.2

33.2

(see notes A and C)

(c) Building services

7.2

9.0

8.0

7.5

(see notes A and D)

(d) Drainage and external works

7.3

9.1

8.3

7.6

(see notes A, B and E)

(e) Contingencies

5.6

7.4

5.8

6.0



____

____

____

____



62.6

82.9

65.3

67.4



____

____

____

____


*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 130 nos. of steel H-piles at an average depth of 30 metres.

  3. Provision of site safety measures of 2% of the estimated contract sum (excluding contingencies) is included in the building cost.

  4. Costs for drainage and external works are for a standard school site area of 6 950 square metres built on a flat site. No diversion of existing utilities or noise mitigation measures are required.

  5. No consultancy services are required.

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

Notes :

  1. For 217ES, the higher costs for piling, building, building services, drainage and external works are due to higher labour and transportation costs as the proposed school is located in Tung Chung. The need to have deeper piles to suit the site conditions, i.e. a depth of 40 metres which is 10 metres more than the average depth of 30 metres, also contributes to the higher piling cost.

  2. For 219ES, the piling cost is adjusted to suit the site conditions and is based on 145 nos. of steel H-piles at an average depth of 35 metres. The drainage and external works cost is higher because of the construction of a solid fence wall as a noise mitigation measure.

  3. For 218ES and 219ES, the building costs are higher because of the provision of insulated windows as a noise mitigation measure.

  4. For 218ES and 219ES, the building services costs are higher because of the provision of air-conditioning as a noise mitigation measure.

  5. For 218ES, the drainage and external works cost is higher because of the provision of an additional pump house and the construction of solid boundary walls as noise mitigation measures.

(DD1104)

Last Updated on 16 August 1999