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The Government today (July 17) issued a Letter of Intent to Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture for the design-and-build contract of the Tamar Development Project, moving a step closer to contract award.
A spokesman for the Government said, ¡§the Special Selection Board for the Tamar Development Project has completed marking of the four tenders received for the project. Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture has obtained the highest combined technical and price scores. According to the tender conditions, the Government has issued a non-binding Letter of Intent to Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture. However, the tender exercise will not be completed until the contract is awarded. The fact that a Letter of Intent has been issued to Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture does not necessarily mean that it will eventually be awarded the contract. Contract award will be subject to the final decision of the Special Selection Board.¡¨
¡§With the non-binding Letter of Intent, Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture will apply for the necessary planning permission under section 16 of the Town Planning Ordinance.¡¨
The spokesman explained, ¡§under the relevant approved Central (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan (OZP), about two hectares of the Tamar site are zoned ¡¥Open Space¡¦ (O), while 2.2 hectares are zoned ¡¥Government, Institution or Community¡¦ (G/IC).¡¨
¡§To allow the tenderers to maximise their design creativity, the tender document provides that tenderers may propose a design that has part of the Central Government Complex (CGC) and/or Legislative Council (LegCo) Complex encroaching upon the O zone. The prerequisite is that the provision of at least two hectares of public open space must not be compromised.¡¨
¡§Since the design of Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture involves encroachment of part of the CGC and/ or LegCo Complex onto the O zone, it would have to obtain planning permission from the Town Planning Board (TPB) under section 16 of the Town Planning Ordinance.¡¨
Such section 16 planning permission, if granted by the TPB, would not affect the overall provision of open space and G/IC uses at the Tamar site, i.e. two hectares would remain public open space, and 2.2 hectares G/IC area, as designated on the current OZP.
According to the tender conditions, Gammon - Hip Hing Joint Venture shall submit the section 16 application to the TPB as soon as possible and obtain the necessary planning permission within seven months from the date of the Letter of Intent.
The Special Selection Board has conducted tender assessment against a comprehensive list of criteria set out in the tender document. The quality considerations take up 60 per cent of the overall score. These include the design and aesthetic aspects; planning, sustainability and environmental aspects; and functional and technical aspects, etc. Price considerations take up the remaining 40 per cent.
The Special Selection Board is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration. Members are Mrs Rita Fan, Ms Miriam Lau, Professor David Lung, Mr Alan Lai and Mrs Rita Lau.
Ends/Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:05
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