The Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, today (January 20) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chairman of the Hong Kong Housing Society, Mr David C Lee, on the Society's Building Management and Maintenance Scheme.
Mr Suen noted that the MOU signified the Housing Society's commitment to the implementation of the Building Management and Maintenance Scheme which would benefit the community.
In his 2005 Policy Address, the Chief Executive reiterated that the Government would speed up the maintenance of old buildings. As the neglect of buildings is widespread and complex, there is a need to utilise various available resources and expertise.
"We are glad to have the assistance of the Housing Society in introducing this scheme to help more owners. The Society is well placed to undertake this task given its profound experience and expertise in building management and maintenance." Mr Suen said.
The salient features of the scheme include:
* The Housing Society will set aside HK$3 billion for the scheme. The Society estimates that some 800 buildings will benefit from the scheme annually.
* The Housing Society will adopt an integrated "one-stop" strategy to help owners to handle building maintenance and management matters. In addition to actively assisting owners in building management such as formation of owners' corporations, technical support, financial incentives and interest-free loans will also be made available to eligible owners.
* The scheme will provide comprehensive support services. This comprehensive scheme will not only provide solutions to safety and hygiene problems regarding common areas of buildings but will also tackle similar problems with the flat interior in order to improve the overall living environment of residents.
* This scheme is conducive to the industry's participation in building management and maintenance. With the Housing Society's assistance, it is believed owners will be more ready to engage the service of the industry. This will create job opportunities for the property management and construction-related sectors.
Ends/Thursday, January 20, 2005
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