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Housing Dimensions Archive
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Housing Dimensions is a bi-weekly newsletter published by the Housing Department, bringing you the latest development and information of the Housing Authority and the Housing Department. Your suggestions and comments are most welcome. Please click here for our online form.
For the archived issues from 13 June 2003 onwards, please click here.
(Stories in Staff Corner are available in Chinese.)
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| Issue Date: 15 Dec 2006 |
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| Surplus HOS Flats on Sale in Early January |
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The Housing Authority (HA) will offer 3 056 surplus Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats for sale in early 2007. Applications from public housing tenants and other eligible persons will be invited between 2 and 15 January.
All flats scheduled for sale in 2007 Phase 1 are unoccupied completed flats. They are situated in Kingsford Terrace, Wong Tai Sin (1 200 units), Yu Chui Court, Sha Tin (1 489 units) and Tin Fu Court, Tin Shui Wai (367 units).
The flats, with saleable area ranging from 39.2 to 61.6 square metres, are priced between $563,900 and $1,896,700, representing a discount of 30 per cent off the assessed market values.
The HA will carry out pre-sale defect rectification and maintenance works to bring the flats to a reasonable standard before handover. There will be a one-year defects liability period from the date of assignment of the respective flats.
Besides the above three housing courts, applicants can also opt for the Hong Kong Housing Society's Kingston Terrace in Tuen Mun, which will offer 576 unoccupied completed flats for sale at the same time.
Between 2 and 15 January 2007, application forms will be available at the HA Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu, all public housing estate offices, the Housing Information Centre in Sham Shui Po and all Home Affairs District Offices.
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| Partners Receive Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards |
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Several contractors, Housing Department (HD) project teams, work supervisors and workers were presented various awards at the Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards 2006 prize presentation ceremony held on 9 December for their exemplary performance.
The Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards 2006, the fourth so far, is a joint effort between the Housing Authority (HA) and related organizations in the industry.
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 Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony, Mr Thomas Chan Chun-yuen, Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands (Housing), highlighted the importance of site safety and protecting workers' rights in ensuring the quality of public housing construction and maintenance.
Mr Chan said, "A safe working environment for workers is conducive to achieving better construction quality. Timely wage payments to workers will boost morale of the workforce. Thus, the HA has kept up its partnership with the industry to implement measures that would contribute to site safety and worker protection."
He said to enhance site safety, new techniques and practices are constantly researched and put in place. Since last year, the HA has stipulated in all its construction, piling, demolition and civil contracts that Hard-paved Construction should be widely adopted so as to keep material storage area and passageways in better order, facilitate dust control and site drainage, and improve site environment.
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Co-organizing this year's Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards are Hong Kong Construction Association, Hong Kong Federation of Electrical & Mechanical Contractors, Hong Kong Construction Sub-contractors Association, Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, Construction Site Workers General Union, Hong Kong & Kowloon Electrical Engineering & Appliances Trade Workers Union, Construction Industry Training Authority and Vocational Training Council.
Among the award receivers were 42 contractors, five Outstanding Building Projects, six Total Maintenance Scheme Projects, 15 Best Site Safety Record Projects, seven Outstanding Housing Department Project Teams, 10 supervisors and 20 workers.
Some of the awardees' winning experiences will be posted on the HA/HD Web Site soon.
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| HD Sets up Sub-committee to Foster Partnership for a Safety Culture |
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As a major stakeholder of the construction industry in Hong Kong, the Housing Authority (HA) has been seeking to promote site safety in the industry. Building on the initiatives of its Site Safety Strategy, the Authority has developed various measures to enhance site safety standards.
Understanding that site safety to a great extent depends on the co-operation of the HA's business partners and stakeholders, the HA has recently established the Housing Department Site Safety Sub-committee (HDSSSC) with the participation of related organizations, Government departments, contractors' associations and worker unions in order to foster partnership for a safety culture.
The HDSSSC is chaired by Deputy Director of Housing / Development and Construction, Ms Ada Fung, and reports to the Housing Department Environment, Health and Safety Committee. It is armed with the mission to review and advise site safety management measures for construction and maintenance contracts of the HD.
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 Meetings with stakeholders will be held half-yearly to engage the HA's stakeholders in the review of site safety measures. The first HDSSSC meeting was convened on 24 November 2006 with more than 30 participants.
Among the participants were HD professional grade personnel and representatives of the Construction Industry Training Council, the Vocational Training Council, the Hong Kong Construction Association, the Labour Department, the Buildings Department, the Occupational Safety and Health Council, the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union and the Construction Site Workers General Union.
Ms Fung said, "Partnership with our stakeholders is of paramount importance as we review our site safety measures and seek to strengthen safe practices for our works, property management and cleansing services contracts."
A detailed action plan has been drawn up for the sub-committee, covering site safety strategy and implementation, contract provisions, contractors' performance assessment and monitoring, list management as well as training and promotional campaigns.
"With active participation of the practitioners from the field, the HDSSSC helps to provide an effective platform for tapping feedback and support on implementation of initiatives across the industry," Ms Fung added.
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| Massive Mural Unveiled in Yau Tong |
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A massive mural combining the effort of more than 50 people to capture Yau Tong's local heritage, culture and vision for the future was unveiled in Yau Tong Estate on 3 December.
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 The painting, measuring 26 metres by four metres and titled "Let's Give Yau Tong a New Look", is the culmination of a series of activities organized by the Housing Authority (HA) to promote community harmony and local participation.
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The HA joined forces with a number of organizations in hosting various activities, including workshops and a mural design competition, as part of the Yau Tong development. Designs of the 25 winners of the competition have been blended into the massive mural.
Ms Ada Fung, Deputy Director of Housing / Development and Construction, said at the unveiling ceremony that people from different age groups and backgrounds had cooperated to bring about an impressive art piece, amalgamating a diversity of styles and demonstrating the vibrancy of their community.
She said, "Community members always find this kind of participative activities a rewarding experience, seeing their ideas and talents gradually materialized. The HA has been working closely with community groups, tenants and corporations in the neighbourhood of public housing estates to bring about works of art or greening that reflected the uniqueness and foster community pride."
The Yau Tong mural project was a continuation of the HA's endeavours to engage the public in community-building. In Cheung Wang Estate, Tsing Yi, there is a 128-metre long mural born of another HA initiative in 2004.
Participating in the Yau Tong project are the Housing Committee of the Kwun Tong District Council, Yau Tong Net, Yau Tong Churches Network, the Estate Management Advisory Committee of Yau Tong Estate and the Hong Kong Mural Society.
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| More Certificates Earned for Our Energy Efficiency Design |
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Five more certificates under the Hong Kong's Energy Efficiency Registration Scheme for Buildings were won by the Housing Authority (HA)'s Shek Kip Mei Estate Phase 1 for its energy-efficient electrical, lighting and lift installations.
This has added to a total of 76 certificates obtained by the HA's public housing projects since the launch of the scheme to encourage the best practices in the efficient use of energy in building services by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department in 1998.
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 Chief Building Service Engineer of the Housing Department, Mr Ho Chi-shing, represented the HA in receiving the five newly awarded certificates at the ceremony of the "2nd Hong Kong Energy Efficiency Awards" on 20 November 2006.
Committed to developing environmentally friendly housing, the HA has been exploring the viability of more energy-efficient initiatives in the design of building service installations for its public housing projects and various energy codes have been adopted as far as practical.
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| Autopay Lucky Draw Winners Receive Great Prizes |
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Fifteen lucky tenants entered into Grand Draw of Rent Payment by Autopay happily received the first and second prizes at the prize presentation ceremony held at the Housing Authority (HA) Exhibition Centre on 8 December.
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 Mr Lau Kai-hung, Deputy Director of Housing / Estate Management, said, "The Housing Authority has since early in the year launched a series of promotional activities to encourage public housing residential tenants to use autopay for rent payment."
"With the convenience of autopay service, tenants no longer have to worry about queuing and watching due dates. Staff resources thus saved can be deployed elsewhere to enhance service quality," he added.
Tenants who successfully effected rent payment through autopay in the three consecutive months from August to October were automatically entered into the lucky draw.
The five first prize winners of the grand draw came from Oi Man Estate, Pak Tin Estate, On Yam Estate, Choi Wan (I) Estate and Siu Sai Wan Estate. The ten second prize winners were from Tsz Lok Estate, Lai Kok Estate, Oi Tung Estate, Shek Lei (II) Estate, Lung Hang Estate, Siu Sai Wan Estate, On Yam Estate, Yau Oi Estate, Tin Wah Estate and Cheung Hong Estate. They each won a $6,000 or $3,000-worth shopping coupon respectively.
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Another 1 350 lucky tenants who won the third, fourth and consolation prizes would receive shopping coupons of different values. They will be notified individually by post. The full list of winners is also available on the Housing Authority / Housing Department Web Site.
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| E-Cards to Send out Season's Greetings |
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 With Christmas around the corner, the Housing Authority has prepared two e-Christmas cards for the members of the public to send their season's greetings to friends, relatives and business partners.
Simply go to the Housing Authority / Housing Department Web Site, select an e-Christmas card, choose a greeting and input the full email addresses of yours and the recipient. Your warm wishes will be sent out immediately
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| Events to Promote Fire Prevention |
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A fire can cause great disasters, bringing about tragic loss of human lives and properties. We must therefore be alert to the danger of fire and take preventive measures.
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 In a joint effort to promote fire safety in public housing estates, the Housing Authority (HA) and the Metro Radio has visited 12 estates over the past two months to spread fire prevention messages.
The series of visits was wrapped up in the "Estate Fire Prevention Party" held in the Tai Wo Hau Community Centre on 10 December. Apart from performance by local artistes, there were interactive games to enable participating tenants understand the importance of fire prevention.
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 On the same day, Assistant Director of Housing / Estate Management 1, Mr Lee Cert-quinn, represented the HA to take part in the launching ceremony of the "2006 / 2007 Fire Prevention Campaign" held in the piazza of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Officiating guests included Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose Lee.
Booth games carrying various fire prevention messages were set up and the HA's "Estate Fire Safety Ambassadors" were there to give guidance to participants.
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| HOMES Wins an ICT Bronze Award |
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The Housing Department (HD)'s Housing Construction Management Enterprise System (HOMES), an information technology system developed to facilitate the management of construction programmes and projects, has recently been given a bronze award in the e-Business category of the Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards 2006.
It was among the 40 entries of the category of the ICT Awards. The award presentation ceremony, officiated by the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, was held on 22 November 2006.
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 HOMES was praised for its excellence in the design and usage of technology to ensure data accuracy and reusability. It was also recognized as a first mover in building a common information backbone for the building and construction industry.
A joint effort of the HD's construction, IT and finance profession teams, HOMES provides one-stop service to all the personnel involved in various aspects of construction projects. It also allows on-line collaboration, knowledge management, data exchange and information sharing among internal and external working parties.
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The ICT Awards 2006 was organized by ICT professional bodies including the Hong Kong Computer Society and the Internet Professional Association to recognize, commend and promote the excellent achievements of the local professionals and organizations.
The event was given strong support by the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer who was the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Awards.
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Last revision date: 15 December 2006
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