Following is a question by the Hon Selina Chow and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (July 6):
Question:
In order to implement the Building Management and Maintenance Scheme, the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) has set up Property Management Advisory Centres (PMACs) at Shamshuipo, Central and Western District of the Hong Kong Island and Tsuen Wan, and will establish similar centres respectively at Yau Tsim Mong, Tokwawan and Hong Kong East soon, to provide free guidance and professional advice to the public. However, among these six PMACs, only one of them is designated to serve the entire New Territories, where many dilapidated buildings are located. For example, in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing of the New Territories West, which have been developed for over 30 years, many dilapidated buildings need repair. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) if the above PMACs will handle requests for assistance and enquiries from other districts; for example, whether owners of private buildings in North West of the New Territories can seek assistance from PMACs apart from the one in Tsuen Wan; and
(b) if HKHS has assessed if the distribution of the above PMACs will result in uneven allocation of resources; if so, of the assessment results, and whether HKHS has plans to allocate more resources to the New Territories so as to assist owners of the dilapidated buildings there to repair their properties?
Reply:
President,
It is the owners' responsibility to properly maintain and manage their buildings. The "Building Management and Maintenance Scheme" (the Scheme) launched early this year by the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) aims at providing "one-stop" technical and financial support to owners in need so as to encourage and assist them to properly manage and maintain their buildings with a view to improving their living environment and enhancing building condition in the territory.
My reply to the two-part question is as follows:
(a) The HKHS welcomes owners of private buildings (including those in northwestern New Territories) to make enquiries or seek professional advice regarding building management and maintenance either by phone or in person at any of its Property Management Advisory Centres (PMACs). PMAC staff will try their best to assist regardless of whether the enquiries come from another district.
(b) The HKHS plans to set up six PMACs within this year. Four of these centres are in Shum Shui Po, Central and Western District, Tsuen Wan and Yau Tsim Mong respectively and they have already commenced operation. The remaining two centres are scheduled to be opened in Kowloon City and the Eastern District in the second half of the year.
The HKHS has already taken into account the distribution of the target buildings as well as owners' demand in selecting the locations of PMACs to ensure easy access by the Scheme's target owners. In this regard, the HKHS has made reference to the relevant information of all buildings in Hong Kong maintained by the Rating and Valuation Department to ascertain the distribution of buildings which are over 20 years' old and within the rateable value limits of the Scheme. Currently about 2,400 HKHS's target buildings are located in Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and the New Territories, accounting for about 16% of all the target buildings of the Scheme. About 11,500 target buildings are located in Hong Kong Island, Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong and Kowloon City, accounting for about 74% of all the target buildings. The remaining target buildings are scattered throughout other districts in the territory.
The HKHS will closely monitor the provision of service by the PMACs and consider allocating more resources to individual districts according to actual needs.
Ends/Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Issued at HKT 14:54
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