PWSC(97-98)47
For discussion
on 3 September 1997

ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS
SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 703 - BUILDINGS
Social Welfare and Community Building - Community centres and halls
172SC - Community hall in the redevelopment at Leighton Hill Quarters and Harcourt Place, Happy Valley

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 172SC to Category A at an estimated cost of $35.3 million in money-of-the-day prices for the construction of a community hall in the redevelopment at Leighton Hill Quarters and Harcourt Place, Happy Valley.

PROBLEM

There are insufficient community building facilities and no community hall in Wanchai District.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Architectural Services (D Arch S), with the support of the Secretary for Home Affairs, proposes to upgrade 172SC to Category A at an estimated cost of $35.3 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of a community hall in the redevelopment at Leighton Hill Quarters and Harcourt Place, Happy Valley.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The scope of the project comprises the construction of a community hall with a gross floor area of 1 215 square metres which includes a multi-purpose hall, a conference room, a store, an office and other ancillary areas. We plan to include the project as part of a private residential development⁽¹⁾ at the Leighton Hill Quarters and Harcourt Place redevelopment site which has been earmarked for sale in the 1997-98 financial year. We propose to include the construction of the community hall by the successful bidder as one of the lease conditions of the land sale. The successful bidder will be entrusted to construct the community hall with funding borne by Government.

JUSTIFICATION

4. The Wanchai District, with a population of over 170 000, is currently not provided with any government-built community hall facilities. There is only one voluntary organization-run community centre, the St. James ' Settlement Multi-Services Community Centre, operated by the St. James ' Settlement at Stone Nullah Lane to serve the Wanchai District. The centre alone is unable to meet the need for such facilities in Wanchai.

5. Furthermore, as there is no government-built community hall, District Officer (Wanchai) has to spend much effort and time to find an emergency shelter whenever the need arises (e.g. natural disasters and inclement weather). In such event, the District Officer has to approach local schools or non-government organisations for assistance to make use of their facilities as emergency shelters. In addition, Wanchai Provisional District Board members have been expressing concern over the lack of a government-built community hall in Wanchai. Given the urgent need for such facilities, it is necessary to build a community hall on a centrally located and suitable site in Wanchai so as to meet the community ' s need.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

6. We estimate the cost of the community hall component of the redevelopment project to be $35.3 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 7 below), made up as follows -

A breakdown of the cost estimate for consultants ' fees and related services is at the Enclosure.

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

8. We derived the MOD estimates on the basis of the Government ' s forecast of trend labour and construction prices for the period 1997 to 2003. We will entrust the project to the successful bidder under a fixed price lump-sum contract at which 95% of the payment will be paid on practical completion of the project, i.e. when the building is ready for occupation, and the remaining 5% paid on completion of making good defects. This method of payment is used in most government entrustment projects because we can clearly define the scope of works in advance, leaving little room for uncertainty.

9. We estimate the additional annually recurrent expenditure of the project to be $0.44 million.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

10. We consulted the Wanchai Provisional District Board on 11 August 1997. Members supported the project.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

11. D Arch S completed a Preliminary Environmental Review (PER) for the project in February 1997 and concluded that the project would have limited potential to cause adverse effects to the existing environment. The Director of Environmental Protection vetted the PER and agreed that an Environmental Impact Assessment would not be necessary. During construction, we will control noise, dust and site run-off nuisances to comply with the established criteria through the implementation of mitigation measures in the relevant contracts.

LAND ACQUISITION

12. The project does not require land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

13. We upgraded 172SC to Category B in August 1997. We expect the successful bidder to start the construction works of the community hall component of the redevelopment project in September 1998 for completion in September 2001.

Home Affairs Bureau
August 1997

(LL245)

(1) The entire private residential development will include residential buildings, public open space and a non-domestic complex which shall accommodate facilities for the residents and the community hall.

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Enclosure to PWSC(97-98)47

172SC - Community hall in the redevelopment at Leighton Hill Quarters and Harcourt Place, Happy Valley

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

2. 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 the successful bidder has selected the consultant.

(LL245)