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Tung Tau (I) Estate Block 22 to be cleared in 2012
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The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:

     The Housing Authority's (HA) Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) today (January 15) approved a proposal to clear the 43-year-old Tung Tau (I) Estate Block 22 in Wong Tai Sin in 2012.

     The decision was made after carefully weighing up the structural conditions and the financial viability of further extending the lifespan of the block.

     ¡§Although a comprehensive recently completed structural investigation concludes that the Tung Tau (I) Estate Block 22 is structurally safe, large-scale repair works are required in order to sustain the serviceable lifespan of the building for the next 15 years," an authority spokesman said. "The necessary repair works, estimated at about $46 million, are not cost effective, not to mention the extensive nuisance and disturbance to be borne by the affected tenants.¡¨

     The spokesman said that about 1,350 flats in Tung Tau Estate Phase 9 scheduled for completion in 2011-2012 could be available for the accommodation of the affected tenants.

     Other flats in the Wong Tai Sin district are also available for the early thinning of population in Tung Tau (I) Estate Block 22.

     ¡§Together with the authority's stock of available vacant flats for allocation each year, we are confident of rehousing the affected tenants in good time,¡¨ the spokesman said.

     He said the Po Yan Catholic Primary School which is connected to Tung Tau (I) Estate Block 22 would be retained. The school is structurally sound and the school as well as parents welcomed the proposed retention arrangement.

     To ensure that the school is operated under a safe and less-disturbing environment during the redevelopment period, a liaison group consisting of representatives from the school, Education Bureau and Housing Department will be formed. Hydraulic concrete crusher demolition method and non-percussive piling method will be used to mitigate noise emissions.  Dust suppression devices will also be adopted to minimise air pollution at the school.

     Detailed arrangements relating to clearance, rehousing, ex-gratia allowance payments to the affected tenants and shop operators will be submitted to the authority's Subsidised Housing Committee and Commercial Properties Committee for endorsement.

     At today's meeting, the SPC also noted that Fuk Loi Estate in Tsuen Wan would be retained.

     ¡§According to the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme (CSIP), all buildings in Fuk Loi Estate are structurally safe and generally in good structural condition, having undergone rather extensive repairs in recent years. Structural repair and improvement works in various locations of the buildings at a total cost of around $11 million will be carried out to sustain the estate for the next 15 years,¡¨the spokesman said.

     ¡§Estate improvement works, including the construction of lifts at the five low blocks, will also be carried out in parallel to enhance the living environment of the tenants,¡¨he added.

     Completed between 1963 and 1967, Fok Loi Estate comprises 3,129 flats in nine domestic blocks of 7 to 16 storeys high.

     CSIP was introduced in September, 2005, to ascertain the structural safety of estates of age about or more than 40 and whether these estates are cost-effective to keep.  The investigation work for eight estates has been completed.  SPC today endorsed to extend the CSIP to cover 32 estates completed between 1974 and 1980 (Please refer to Annex for the list of estates).  The extended programme will start after the completion of the investigations of the remaining two estates, Wah Fu Estate and Ping Shek Estate, this year.

Ends/Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:01

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