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Up to 30 September 2004, 60 out of the 64 key activities covered in
the Corporate Plan for 2004 / 05 had been completed or were on schedule,
with four key activities behind schedule or under review. A summary
of the progress thus far is set out below.
 PROVISION
OF PUBLIC HOUSING
During the first six months of 2004 / 05, some 6 641
flats were built. We also allocated about 11 640 public rental
housing (PRH) flats to Waiting List applicants and rehoused 1 059
households affected by the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme.
As of end September 2004, the average waiting time was 1.9 years for
all Waiting List applicants and 0.9 year for elderly singletons.
IMPROVEMENT IN ESTATE CLEANLINESS
Major cleansing operations were launched in 14 hygiene black spots
and 344 other problem spots. The Marking Scheme on Hygiene Related
Misdeeds has proven effective in improving the general cleanliness
in estates. So far 2 614 households were booked under the scheme.
A notice-to-quit was issued to one household which received over
16 points in October 2004.
INTENSIFIED ACTION AGAINST ABUSE OF
PUBLIC HOUSING RESOURCES
The Task Force Against Abuse of Public Housing Resources was
formed in April 2004 to step up efforts in the detection of and
enforcements against abuse of public housing. As at end September
2004, it investigated 3 000 tenancy abuse cases. We also enhanced
public awareness on prevention of tenancy abuses through publicity
campaign.
REVIEW OF DOMESTIC RENT POLICY
The work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Review of Domestic Rent Policy
has been intervened by the judicial review cases of the Housing Authority
(HA)'s decision to defer rent reviews. Yet the court cases have underlined
the importance of identifying an alternative rent adjustment mechanism
that is more viable and helps to promote the long-term sustainability
of the PRH programme. The timetable for consulting
the public on the initial findings of the Ad Hoc Committee will be
subject to the progress of the appeal proceedings.
BUILDING QUALITY ENHANCEMENT
All new construction projects have adopted the "functional
and cost-effective" design to achieve maximum cost-effectiveness.
Key activities include, inter alia, simplified interior design of
lift car; introduction of more cost-effective central and distributed
refuse compactor systems; more extensive use of precasting and prefabrication
technology; and formulation of a set of standards on housing design
and development to promote healthy living.
We attach great importance to the standard of workmanship in
our building works. The fact that we have been able to keep the
average number of defects per flat at handover to below one over
the past few years is indicative of the quality of our building
works. In this connection, we have spared no effort in promoting
the establishment of a quality workforce, which is instrumental
in enhancing building quality. For contracts tendered out from
June 2004 onwards, a prescribed percentage of skilled / semi-skilled
workers must be employed to perform specified construction works.
These workers must have obtained the relevant Trade Test Certificate
issued by the Construction Industry Training Authority or the
Vocational Training Council.
PHASING OUT HOME OWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE
Some 14 000 flats in two estates were offered for sale under
the Tenants Purchase Scheme Phase 6A following the completion
of the condition survey of the drainage system and necessary repair
works. The remaining two estates under Phase 6A with some 12 000
flats were scheduled for sale before end 2004.
Following a comprehensive review of the Home Assistance Loan
Scheme, the HA decided to terminate the scheme in July 2004 to
focus its resources to assist low-income families in need of rental
accommodations.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES
About 190 car parking spaces were completed and taken over by the
Commercial Properties Sub-division in the first half of 2004 / 05.
During the six-month period, preparatory works were carried out to
implement the plan to divest the retail and car parking facilities.
The Link Management Limited was established to manage the real estate
investment trust following divestment. We also introduced corresponding
operational and organizational changes to adapt ourselves to the new
mode of service delivery.
We continued to innovate on our letting strategies with a view
to enhancing the overall occupancy. To foster a more competitive
bidding atmosphere, Open Instant Tender and Short Term Letting
were held every fortnight instead of every week. During the first
half of the year, some 13 000 square metres internal floor area
retail space was let through negotiation and 431 letting cases
were recorded through the Business Opportunity Centre and open
rental tender. We also turned large and less popular retail premises
into education and cultural centres or residential care homes
for the elderly.
GREATER USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The development of two high-priority computer systems, i.e.,
the Estate Management and Maintenance System and the Housing Construction
Management Enterprise System, was in progress. The former replaces
the existing revenue management, tenancy management as well as
application and allocation systems with an enhanced web-based
system. The latter seeks to improve the quality and efficiency
of managing the construction of public housing projects. During
the period, we also enhanced the provision of information technology
services by reducing the lead time for acquisitions of computers,
enhancing system reliability and outsourcing maintenance support.
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