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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung Kin-kee and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Rafael Hui, in the Legislative Council today (October 19):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that the plan to construct the Central Government Complex and the new Legislative Council Building on the Tamar site was shelved indefinitely on the grounds of the Government's unfavourable financial position and the prevailing political climate, whether the authorities consider that those circumstances no longer exist;
(b) when the authorities expect to implement the plan; whether the design and requirements of the plan will be different from the original ones; if so, of the differences; whether the authorities will consult the public on the plan and consider other alternative sites; and the details of the construction cost of the whole project and the job opportunities thus created for the construction and related industries; and
(c) given that the authorities conducted the tender exercise in two stages in 2002 for selecting a contractor for the project's design-and-build contract, and five consortia were prequalified after the Stage I prequalification exercise, how the authorities will deal with the concepts and building designs collected in the prequalification exercise; and whether they will go through the remaining tendering procedures and give these consortia priority in entering the final bidding stage for the plan; if not, whether they will start afresh the prequalification procedures for the plan?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Government is preparing the detailed proposal of the Tamar development project and will later consult the Legislative Council.
In respect of the public works item to develop a new Central Government Complex (CGC), Legislative Council Complex (LCC) and other compatible community facilities on the Tamar site, we consulted the Legislative Council Panel on Planning, Lands and Works and the Public Works Subcommittee in April 2003 and May 2003 respectively and obtained Members' support. Owing to the outbreak of SARS and its impacts on the economy, the Government shelved its funding application to the Finance Committee in May 2003. In November of the same year, we formally announced the decision to defer the Tamar development project in view of the Government's financial position and the prevailing political climate. Notwithstanding, we made it clear then that developing the Tamar site into Hong Kong's prime civic core, with the new CGC and LCC as its major components, would remain our planning objective.
Against the recovery of the economy in the past two years, the fiscal deficit of the Government has decreased considerably. We hope to be able to advance our target of restoring fiscal balance in the Consolidated Account. As public finances have improved and public confidence in the future has been restored, we consider it timely to re-launch the Tamar development project which can provide the solution to the acute office space shortage problem facing the existing Central Government Offices and the Legislative Council Building. The implementation of the Tamar development project will also create more than 2,700 new job opportunities for the construction industry.
(b) We propose the new CGC and LCC should be retained in the Tamar development project as its two core components. As stipulated under the Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan (OZP), about half of the Tamar site, i.e. two hectares, will be used as open and recreational space for the public. We will consult the Legislative Council on the project proposal, and submit our funding application to the Finance Committee according to the standard procedures in due course. We hope the Committee will render support to the funding application.
Under the Central District (Extension) OZP, half of the Tamar site has already been zoned "Open Space" use, whereas the other half "Government, Institution or Community" use. The OZP had gone through a comprehensive public consultation process before its approval by the Executive Council in 2000 pursuant to the Town Planning Board's recommendation. Development of a new CGC and LCC on the Tamar site meets the overall planning concept for the Central district. Given that the preliminary ground investigation and preparatory works for the Tamar development project had been completed, and support for the project had been obtained from the Legislative Council when it was consulted in 2003, we consider Tamar the most suitable site for the proposed development.
According to the project scope and user requirements set in 2003, the construction cost of the project was estimated to be around $5 billion. It was also estimated that more than 2,700 jobs would be created for related sectors throughout the development period. We will later consult the Legislative Council and explain details of the project proposal.
(c) Following the announcement of the decision to defer the Tamar development project in November 2003, the Government informed the five pre-qualified applicants in writing that the tender exercise for the project had been terminated with immediate effect. The re-launch of the project will necessitate a fresh tender exercise. The Government will treat all tenderers in a fair manner and will not make special arrangements for any particular companies or individuals.
Ends/Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Issued at HKT 13:54
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