Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 7):
Question:
It has been reported that when meeting the residents of Nga Tsin Wai Village (NTW Village) in February this year, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) undertook to announce the commencement of the redevelopment project of the NTW Village within three months, but no announcement in respect of the project has been made so far. It has also been reported that as URA has to discuss with the developers the collaboration of the project, its commencement has to be delayed for a year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) when URA will announce the commencement of the redevelopment project of the NTW Village; and
(b) whether URA will consult the villagers involved before deciding whether or not the project should be delayed, and provide them with rehousing and compensation first as originally planned?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is an independent statutory body established under the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance. It is tasked with the mission to implement urban renewal. The Board of the URA is responsible for formulating and overseeing the policy and operation of the URA, including the timing for commencement of individual urban renewal projects, the implementation mode and the compensation policy.
Regarding the two parts of the question, the information provided by the URA is as follows:
(a) The Nga Tsin Wai Village project is one of the 25 urban renewal projects announced by the former Land Development Corporation. The URA has all along accorded priority to the handling of this project. At the end of last year, the Wong Tai Sin District Council, having considered the aspirations of the villagers of the Nga Tsin Wai Village, supported a comprehensive redevelopment of the Village with the preservation of the gate house, the embedded stone plaque and the Tin Hau Temple within the Village. The URA is now in close dialogue with the residents in order to assist them in addressing their issues of concern. At the same time, the URA is in discussion with the property owner who owns the majority of property interests within the project, with a view to exploring feasible options to implement the project. The URA will announce the details of the project upon the completion of the preparation work.
(b) The URA is now actively undertaking preparation work for the Nga Tsin Wai Village project. The URA will continue to maintain close dialogue with the Wong Tai Sin District Council and the residents, and explain its current compensation and re-housing policy to the residents concerned. Following previous practice, the URA will, upon commencement of a redevelopment project, provide appropriate compensation, re-housing and the necessary assistance to the affected residents.
Ends/Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:51
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