EC(98-99)10

For discussion
on 4 November 1998

ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 110 - TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Subhead 001 Salaries

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the creation of the following permanent post in the Territory Development Department -

1 Chief Engineer
(D1) ($98,250 - $104,250)

PROBLEM

The Director of Territory Development (D of TD) does not have adequate directorate support to implement the new measures endorsed by the Steering Committee on Land Supply for Housing (HOUSCOM) and monitor the progress of the delivery of housing and housing-related projects.

PROPOSAL

2. We propose to create one permanent post of Chief Engineer (CE) (D1) in the Territory Development Department (TDD) Headquarters.

JUSTIFICATION

3. The Government is committed to building an average of 50 000 public flats a year and will continue to form land and build the necessary infrastructure to meet the long-term demand of about 35 000 private flats a year. As a long-term commitment to housing production, Government has approved inventories of more than 1 000 housing sites, and more studies to identity such sites are forthcoming. This is a continuous effort and is expected to extend well into the 2010s. To help achieve the production target, the HOUSCOM has been established. It has now thoroughly reviewed and streamlined the process of reclamation and land formation to reduce the planning and design time, and introduced a new accountability system. Under the new system, TDD, together with Housing Department and Lands Department, are the lead departments responsible for monitoring housing projects from site delivery to completion and for co-ordinating the efforts of other departments involved. Currently, TDD has taken on the project directorship for 68 sites in a 13-year rolling programme under the Housing Monitoring Information System. These housing sites will, altogether, provide about 141 000 units for private and public housing in the coming years, as listed at Enclosure 1. It is estimated that total expenditure on housing and housing related projects undertaken by TDD over the period from 1998-99 to 2002-03 will amount to about $27.5 billion.

4. The Project Manager (ranked at Principal Government Engineer (D3)) and Deputy Project Manager (ranked at Government Engineer (D2)) levels steer District Monitoring Groups on Housing Sites in the regional Development Offices of TDD. Their responsibilities include resolving inter-departmental conflicts which may impede the targeted production process. Whilst the Project Managers will endeavour to resolve problems at the district level as far as possible, they will have to refer problems with territory-wide or policy implications to TDD Headquarters for appropriate action.

5. At present there is no dedicated officer at the directorate level in TDD Headquarters to co-ordinate referrals from the Project Managers in the five Development Offices. This duty is being performed by the Assistant Director (Development) (AD/D) (D2) of TDD Headquarters as an interim arrangement. AD/D has a very wide range of responsibilities, including mapping out development strategies, monitoring submissions on major strategic planning studies, reinforcing project management to ensure timely delivery of projects, promoting construction site safety awareness, implementing site safety measures and establishing a quality management system for TDD. As he is already over-stretched, the addition of the housing project related duties on a long term basis would undermine his effectiveness. Given the need to accord top priority to housing and housing-related projects, D of TD has critically reviewed the existing staff resources of the TDD Headquarters and the five Development Offices. He has concluded that additional directorate support in TDD Headquarters is necessary.

6. In view of the long term housing strategy as mentioned in paragraph 3 above, we propose to create one permanent post of CE (D1) as the TDD Departmental System Co-ordinator for housing projects. Departmentally designated as Chief Engineer/Housing (CE/H), he will assist AD/D to provide prompt advice and solutions to problems encountered by the Development Offices in connection with the timely delivery of housing sites and the provision of housing-related infrastructure. He will address problems and issues from a territorial perspective, offer suggestions to the Project Managers in the Development Offices, make recommendations to the senior directorate staff, and map out strategies on issues with territory-wide and policy implications. Where necessary, he will refer problems through D of TD to other heads of department or to the Housing Project Action Team, the joint panel headed by the Secretary for Housing and the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, or the Committee on Planning and Land Development. He will also help formulate comprehensive departmental views and provide inputs to other directorate staff in the Headquarters on housing issues. In view of the importance and complexity of the job requirements, the incumbent of the post should have wide experience in project management and government procedures. Besides, he should have thorough understanding of the work of the department and be of the appropriate seniority to establish rapport with the management of other government departments and housing agencies. In this regard, we consider that the post should appropriately be pitched at the Chief Engineer level.

7. The existing and proposed organisation charts of the department are at Enclosures 2 and 3respectively. The job description of the proposed CE/H is at Enclosure 4.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8. The additional notional annual salary cost at mid-point of this proposal is $1,213,200. The annual average staff cost of the proposal, including salary and on-costs, is $2,160,576. We have included sufficient provision in the 1998-99 Estimates to meet the cost of this proposal.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

9. In the 1997 Policy Address, the Chief Executive set the production of not less than 85 000 flats a year starting in 1999-2000 as the top priority of the Administration. The HOUSCOM has since July 1997 been established to make more land available for residential development to meet the housing needs of the community. It is chaired by the Financial Secretary and D of TD is a member.

10. In the 1998 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that a review of the individual components of the flat production target has been conducted. The government remains committed to building an average of 50 000 flats a year in the public sector and will continue to form land and build the necessary infrastructure to meet the long-term demand of about 35 000 private flats a year based on current projections.

CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU COMMENTS

11. Civil Service Bureau considers the ranking and grading of the proposed post to be appropriate, having regard to the level of responsibilities and professional input required.

ADVICE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON DIRECTORATE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

12. The Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service has advised that the grading proposed for the post would be appropriate if the post were to be created.

Housing Bureau
October 1998

Enclosure 1 to EC(98-99)10

Site Address	Estimated Number of Flats	Estimated Completion Date (year-month)
Telegraph Bay, Pokfulam (four sites)	2590	2004-06
Tung Chung Area 22	400	2003-08
Tung Chung Area 25	1430	2004-08
MTRC Depot at Tai Ho Area 10 (part)	2904	2005-09
Tai Ho Area 10 (part for HOS)	2900	2007-09
Tung Chung Area 34	5500	2006-10
Tung Chung Area 37	6000	2006-10
PC/PCN/304, Peng Chau North	54	2006-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2E	1365	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 1F	2854	2004-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2F	2305	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2G	2854	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2J	1706	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2K	2542	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2L	2380	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 1B	2654	2005-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 1D	3731	2004-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 1A	3193	2003-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2D	1570	2004-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2B	4326	2004-12
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 2C	2821	2006-03
Southeast Kowloon Development Area 1C	2628	2005-03
North Part of West Kowloon - Site 3	2642	2005-04
North Part of West Kowloon - Site 1	3700	2005-04
North Part of West Kowloon - Site 5	1550	2004-03
North Part of West Kowloon - Site 6	3600	2003-02
West Kowloon Reclamation Site 11.13	800	2009-03
West Kowloon Reclamation Site 11.18	800	2006-03
Part of Fanling Area 36, Phase 3	1600	2003-11
Fanling Area 36, Phase 1	197	2002-08
Area 36 (West) Po Kin Road, Fanling	920	2004-10
Fanling Area 36, Phase 2	2397	2002-08
Part of Fanling Area 36, Phase 4	1280	2003-11
Part of Fanling Area 36, Phase 5	640	2003-11
Tseung Kwan O Area 65c	1200	2002-11
Ma On Shan Area 86B (site 21 & 22)	1700	2002-06
Ma On Shan Area 77 (site 15)	1190	2005-02
Sha Tin Area 11, Shek Mun-Southern Site A	2730	2003-02
Sha Tin Area 4C/38A, Phase 1	2397	2003-01
Ma On Shan Area 77 (site 9)-(part 1)	800	2004-06
Shatin Area 56A (Kau To)	640	2002-04
Ma On Shan Area 77 (site 10)	900	2005-11
Shatin Area 34, Shui Chuen O	518	2006-02
Shatin Area 52, Shui Chuen O	2500	2004-03
Shatin Area 4C/38A, Phase 2	640	2004-12
Shatin Area 4C/38A, Phase 3	1750	2004-07
Ma On Shan Area 77 Site 9 (part 2)	500	2005-02
Shatin Area 11, Shek Mun-southern Site B	1500	2002-08
Site 12, Area 77, Ma On Shan	600	2005-11
Area 4C, Heung Fan Liu Street	900	2006-04
Shing Mun Valley	2500	2008-01
Whitehead, (STTL 501) Phase 1	2352	2006-05
Whitehead, (STTL 501) Phase 2	2352	2006-04
Tuen Mun Area 54 Site 1	1250	2006-03
Tuen Mun Area 54 Site 2,3,4	9600	2007-03
Pak Shek Kok Development Area	2840	2005-04
Pak Shek Kok Development Area, Phase 2	1460	2006-04
Sham Tseng Reclamation, (Lot 264 in DD390)	1818	2007-03
Tin Shui Wai Area 104A	2111	2004-12
Hung Shui Kiu Area 13 (FFSS Portion)	2000	2003-08
Hung Shui Kiu Area 13 (Rental Portion)	1300	2003-08
Yuen Long Area 13	7800	2005-01
TSW Reserve Zone Area 112	1330	2006-06
TSW Reserve Zone Area 115	1000	2006-06
Tin Shui Wai Reserve Zone Area 104B	2100	2004-03

Enclosure 4 to EC(98-99)10

Rank : Chief Engineer

Responsibilities and Duties

Responsible to Assistant Director/Development for the overall co-ordination and monitoring, at departmental level, of reclamation, land formation and infrastructure works for all housing and housing-related projects within new towns, strategic growth areas and major development areas to ensure their timely completion to meet the housing target. Duties include -

1. to provide/assist to provide professional support to the Director on committee work in respect of the Steering Committee on Land Supply for Housing (HOUSCOM) and other housing and housing-related committee meetings;

2. to co-ordinate centrally all HOUSCOM related matters, oversee the implementation of the housing and housing-related projects including the works of the five District Monitoring Groups on Housing Sites (DMGHSs) and monitor the progress of these projects to ensure their timely completion to meet the housing target;

3. to provide/assist to provide prompt advice and solution to problems in connection with the timely delivery of housing and housing-related projects;

4. to undertake the role of the Departmental System Co-ordinator of the Housing Monitoring Information System (HMIS) and as the Initiative Owner of the Housing Strategic Policy Objective to ensure that the scheduled implementation programme of the housing and housing-related projects, and the targets set under the initiatives are achieved on time;

5. to attend meetings of departmental committees, steering groups and working groups of territorial and regional development studies and other meetings in connection with housing and housing-related projects to facilitate programming and smooth progress of the works to meet the housing production target;

6. to oversee the work of the Engineer/Housing; and

7. to undertake other duties assigned by Director, Deputy Director and/or Assistant Director/Development.