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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (February 7):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of local properties of the Government (including properties for residential and commercial use), the areas of land occupied and details of the geographical distribution of such properties;
(b) whether it has worked out a timetable for auctioning sites of vacant local properties of the Government; if it has, of the details of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that the Government will soon commence the construction of a new Central Government Complex at the Tamar Site, and I have also learnt that it will consider building a Government services centre in South East Kowloon, whether the Government will review afresh the utilization of its existing office accommodation and consider auctioning some of the sites of existing government office buildings?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) Please see Annex 1 for land employed by bureaux and departments for the delivery of public services.
(b) If sites with Government properties can be vacated and are suitable for private residential or commercial development, Government will consider including them in the Application List.
There are currently 13 sites which were formerly occupied by Government properties remaining on the Application List for 2006-07. Details are shown in Annex 2.
(c) It is Government's established policy to optimise the use of resources. When new Government offices come on stream and are available for relocating leased Government offices, Government will cease renting the premises concerned in order to achieve savings in rental expenditure. As for other sites with Government properties which can be vacated as a result of their relocation to the new Government offices, Government will consider the best use of such vacated sites having regard to the circumstances of individual cases.
Ends/Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:42
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