Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (March 12) :
Question :
The Architectural Services Department ("ArchSD") planned last year to contract out its activities progressively with a view to outsourcing 90% of its new projects and 80% or even all of its maintenance jobs within seven years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the percentages of new projects and maintenance works undertaken by ArchSD and private contractors respectively in the past year, and the respective values and time spans of individual outsourced projects;
(b) of the details of the projects to be outsourced by ArchSD in the coming year; and
(c) whether ArchSD has considered, in outsourcing new projects for the planning of old urban areas and urban renewal, organizing a competition on planning concepts, with a view to selecting private contractors whose project designs can integrate different planning concepts and give full play to the local characteristics of the districts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply :
Madam President,
In 2001, Government conducted a business review of ArchSD. The review re-affirmed the professional competency and achievements of ArchSD over the years. Government also decided that ArchSD should focus on the following strategic roles:
(i) strengthening its professional role as Government's corporate adviser on policies and technical issues related to public buildings, and as building authority for government buildings;
(ii) working with the industry to improve the design and maintenance of buildings and in promoting higher standards in construction, site management and safety; and
(iii) concentrating on the project management and supervisory functions in delivering and maintaining public building projects.
In order to enable ArchSD to take up new strategic roles, Government decided that as a long term objective, the Department should outsource 90% of new projects and 80% or even all of its maintenance works. The outsourcing programme is being progressively implemented.
(a) In the past 12 months, ArchSD has outsourced 54% by value of the design work of building projects to consultants. The total value of the outsourced building projects is about $38.5 billion and the average construction period of the projects is about two to three years.
For maintenance works, ArchSD has further outsourced a range of activities including the employment of consultants for design and supervision of some minor works, co-ordination and reporting of minor maintenance, and account checking of maintenance works. The percentage of activities and values of works outsourced are as follows:
| Activities | Approximate % of Activities Outsourced | Approximate Value of Works Outsourced ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| design and supervision of lump sum minor works | 50% | $304 |
| co-ordination and reporting of minor maintenance | 20% | $16 |
| account checking of maintenance works | 20% | $246 |
(b) Details of the projects to be outsourced by ArchSD in the coming year are currently under planning. ArchSD will continue to outsource new projects and maintenance works as appropriate.
(c) In revitalizing old urban districts, the Government will consider, where appropriate, to conduct conceptual design competition to invite different planning ideas and themes so as to make the relevant revitalization works more vibrant and add colours to the local characteristics.
As a statutory body tasked with the responsibility of planning and implementing urban renewal programme, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) attaches much importance to the participation of the public in the planning process of its projects. For example, in January this year, the URA launched an idea competition for the revitalization of the historic Western Market and its neighborhood in the Sheung Wan area. The ideas and creative designs drawn from the competition will be carefully considered for integration with the upcoming urban revitalization works that may be carried out by the URA, the Government and the concerned parties. The URA will continue to apply the same approach to other projects wherever feasible.
When selecting consultants for building projects, ArchSD will consider their knowledge on the local characteristics of the districts and design ability for the building projects. ArchSD will select the most suitable consultant from many contestants to take up the design of the project.
End/Wednesday, March 12, 2003
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