The Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Housing Authority (HA) for the year 2011/12 have been released and made available on the Housing Authority/Housing Department (HA/HD) Website from 5 December.

Under the theme "Meeting New Challenges", the Annual Report highlights the initiatives taken by the HA in responding to new needs and demands on public housing. The challenges include responding to the growing aspirations for public rental housing (PRH); ensuring our work satisfies the principles of sustainable development and complies with stringent safety standards; improving the barrier-free access and facilities; providing advanced IT systems; and maintaining a “people-oriented” approach in estate management. The HA will overcome difficulties with perseverance and respond proactively and decisively to challenges.

A flyer on our PRH portfolio comes with the Annual Report, showing the geographic distribution of our estates and providing some useful figures about our public housing stock.

Members of the public are welcome to browse the e-version of the publication at the HA/HD Website.

A group from the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) joined the 17th Conference of Housing and Urban Public Corporations in Asia (A-HUC) with delegates from Japan, Singapore and Korea to share views on the future of housing and town development. The Conference, hosted by the Urban Renaissance Agency of Japan, was held on 28-30 November in Yokohama, Japan.

The HA delegation was led by Mr D W Pescod, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing)/Director of Housing. At the welcoming dinner, Mr Pescod remarked that the theme of this year’s Conference – “The Role and Future Perspective of Public Organisation for Housing and Town Development” was especially meaningful as many Asian cities were meeting various tough challenges arising from housing, planning and development issues.

Miss Theresa Yim, Assistant Director/Project and Miss Connie Yeung, Chief Architect/Development & Standards of Housing Department jointly presented a paper on HA’s work and experience in housing and urban development over the past years, while Chief Managers/Management Mr Stuart Chen and Mr K F Lui shared how HA’s people-oriented approach is adopted in public housing management and maintenance by involving tenants’ participation.

The A-HUC Conference was jointly founded by the Housing and Development Board of Singapore, the Urban Renaissance Agency of Japan, the Korea Land & Housing Corporation of Korea and the HA in 1995. The four member organisations take turns to hold the annual conference. To commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Public Housing Development in Hong Kong in 2013, the HA will host the 18th A-HUC Conference next year in Hong Kong.

The Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards co-organised by the Housing Authority (HA) and industry associations marks its 10th anniversary this year. Outstanding contractors, supervisors, project teams and frontline workers were commended for their exemplary performance in construction and maintenance of public housing projects in the Awards Presentation Ceremony held on 1 December.

The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, together with representatives of the co-organisers officiated at the Awards Presentation Ceremony. Addressing the ceremony, Mr D W Pescod, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing) started his speech with a quote from Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” He noted that as the largest public housing organisation in Hong Kong, the HA has been playing a leading role in advancing the standards of building and maintenance works and innovation for the benefit of all in the industry. The HA has adopted new construction methods to enhance efficiency and protect the environment. Quoting the use of ground granulated blast-furnace slag as part of the construction material for exterior walls as an example, he said it helps reduce carbon emission by reducing the use of cement. The pre-fabricated steel lift tower and machine-room-less lift construction methods, which are developed to shorten construction period and reduce nuisance to the nearby residents, are other examples of HA’s initiatives. The joint effort with industry practitioners has also significantly reduced construction lead time to world-class standards, which helps speed up the housing allocation for those in need.

Mr Pescod called for the joint effort of the industry with the HA to continue the pursuit of excellence and the emphasis on occupational safety and health. He stressed that “ZERO incident” at workplace was the goal, and the message of “Safety First” must be communicated to staff at all levels. When congratulating the award winners for their best practices, he appealed to these role models to help motivate the industry to excel by providing quality services in the next ten years.

This year’s awardees included 74 contractors and sub-contractors, 5 outstanding projects, 11 best site safety projects, 4 outstanding project teams, 10 outstanding contractor's supervisors, 12 outstanding foremen, 24 outstanding workers, 3 outstanding ambassadors and 3 outstanding building maintenance workers.

To celebrate the festive season, the Housing Authority (HA) has dressed up its 11 shopping centres and lined up an array of celebratory programmes for both shoppers and residents in the vicinity. Programme highlights include :

The shopping centres at Yau Lai, Choi Tak, Lei Muk Shue, Kwai Chung, Hoi Lai, Tin Yan and Mei Tin will organise a series of festive activities on 25 and 26 December, including musical instrument performances, juggling acts, dancing, performance arts, games booths, handicraft workshops and free local snacks. Mascots of Santa Claus, reindeer, snowman and gingerbread man will be on parade to hand out sweets and to picture with visitors. Free Christmas puffy bears will also be available for redemption upon spending for a certain amount.

A variety show will be staged at Kwai Chung and Lei Muk Shue Shopping Centres on 25 and 26 December respectively. Artistes will be present to sing and play games with visitors. Customers may also redeem ice cream upon shopping or spending there.

The Housing Authority (HA) has recently organised a safety seminar with the Labour Department and Occupational Safety & Health Council to promote safety in construction sites. The seminar attracted about 240 participants, including HA staff and works contractors.

Mr Joseph Mak, Chief Structural Engineer (Development & Construction & Independent Checking Unit)(DC&ICU) said in the opening speech that the HA’s Safety Audit System is linked to the “Integrated Pay for Safety, Environment and Health Scheme”. The HA has been steering contractors to work towards continuous improvement and maintaining high standard of safety, environment and hygiene by setting contract terms above regulatory requirements.

The seminar covered an array of topics, including “Integrated Pay for Safety, Environment and Hygiene Scheme for Capital Works New Works Contracts”, “Working at Height Safety”, “Electrical Work Safety” and “Housing Authority Safety Audit System (HASAS) version 1.5 for Building and Engineering Contracts”. A video on the seminar and relevant information will be uploaded on the Housing Department’s e-Learning Portal and HA’s Site Safety Website for experience sharing.

It has been 52 years since the completion of the first phase of So Uk Estate in 1960. Before its demolition for comprehensive redevelopment, a gathering was held in the open space in front of Azalea House to bid farewell to So Uk Estate on 24 November. Hundreds of former residents, estate management personnel from the Housing Department and district councilors gathered together to share their fond memories of the estate and posed for a group photo before they said goodbye to it.

So Uk Estate was one of the estates built under the early low-cost housing programme which aimed at providing affordable accommodation to lower income families. The construction works of So Uk Estate commenced in 1955 and completed eight years later in May 1963. So Uk Estate comprised 16 housing blocks, with more than 5 000 flats which accommodated 33 000 people. The blocks were all named after flowers and plants, under an avant-garde design with well-laid-out spaces. Ample facilities were provided inside the estate, including recreational grounds, shops, banks, clinics, schools and a post office. With a construction cost of over HK$50 million, it was considered the largest comprehensive residential development project in the Far East at the time.

With its long history, a number of local notables have lived and grown up there. The tranquil environment and extensive greenery provided not only a rich nurturing ground for birds and flowers but also incubated many local music and showbiz talents including Sam Hui and his brothers and the Wong brothers of the band Beyond.

The demolition of So Uk Estate is being done in two phases, first in 2009 and then in 2012. The site will be cleared to make way for a new public housing estate. Upon the completion of the whole estate in 2017, there will be 14 blocks in the new estate providing about 6 800 units. Besides the “Three Treasures of So Uk”, namely the archway carrying the estate name, the “princess tree” and the small white house, other landmark facilities such as the mural and the swallow pavilion will be preserved. The trees, landscape and ecological environment will also be conserved as far as possible. All the blocks being built along the mountain terrain will be well connected with barrier free access. Shops will be found at street level, same as in So Uk Estate. Artefacts of public housing will be on display in the small white house.

Christmas is around the corner. The Housing Authority (HA) has designed an
e-card entitled “Have a Wonderful Christmas” for you to send season's greetings to your friends and relatives in an environmentally friendly way.

Simply go to the Housing Authority / Housing Department Website, select the Christmas e-card, input your and the recipients' email addresses; your warm wishes will be delivered immediately.

Mr Leung Man-pong, Clerk of Works of the Housing Department (HD), is about to retire from the civil service after 40 years of diligent work. The HD has recently presented him with a “40 Years’ Meritorious Service Certificate” at its Award Presentation Ceremony for Staff Achievements, in recognition of his outstanding performance over the years. Housing Dimensions interviewed him, and invited him to share his memories and feelings of serving in the HD.

Mr Leung began working for the civil service in 1972 with the Highways Department. He first worked as a Clerical Assistant (General Grade), and later as a Draftsman (Technical Grade). He not only committed to his work but also continued studying after his daily work, obtaining certificates in construction technology and engineering surveying from the Morrison Hill Technical Institute and the Hong Kong Polytechnic (now The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) respectively.

Mr Leung worked as a Foreman when he first joined the HD in 1979. One of the first tasks assigned to him was to carry out improvement work to the toilets at Sau Mau Ping (I) Estate, which had the old Mark I and II building blocks. There were reports of debonded platforms and walls in the toilets and serious water leakage, so there was no room for delay in providing the tenants with safe and hygienic toilets. Mr Leung recalls, “A big furnace had to be prepared for heating mastic asphalt, the material used for debonding rectification works. Workers had to carefully move the hot asphalt to the toilet to carry out improvement work.” The waterproof materials used today are much safer and more environmentally friendly.

Mr Leung was promoted to Senior Foreman in 1981, and was given another challenging task. The administration had decided to renovate the toilets and washrooms in Lok Fu Estate and Wang Tau Hom Estate, and change them from public to private use. During the renovation, Mr Leung was impressed with the patience and understanding displayed by the tenants. The work was completed on schedule. Residents expressed their appreciation to Mr Leung and his team, which gave Mr Leung encouragement and a sense of achievement.

In 1984, Mr Leung was promoted to Assistant Clerk of Works, and was involved in the repair work carried out on the exterior wall of the then HD Headquarters at Princess Margaret Road, Ho Man Tin (now the Civil Engineering and Development Building). The repair work included breaking and repairing the exterior wall, replacing the mosaic tiles with bonntile coating, and making patterns on the wall. Mr Leung and his team members had to work after 6pm so as not to disturb colleagues working inside the building. It was not unusual for their team to work until midnight. At times, Mr Leung had to climb up the scaffolding to a height of more than 10 floors to check whether there were hollow areas inside the concrete wall. Fears still linger in his mind, he says, when recalling this unique experience.

Thinking back on the building materials once used for maintenance work and the way they have evolved over the past decades, Mr Leung recalled how mastic asphalt was used to be the material for the re-roofing on rooftops. Nowadays, a self-adhering sheet waterproofing membrane is used instead. The material initially used for producing water pipes was lead, but was gradually changed to plastic, then copper, later lead with an inner layer of plastic, and most recently to stainless steel. Mr Leung pointed out that in the old days, workers painting external walls used a platform nicknamed “the flying swing”, a kind of suspended working platform that enabled them to move up and down the building block while a much safer working platform is used nowadays.

Mr Leung was promoted to Clerk of Works in 1994, working for the District Management Office and the Regional Management Office. From 2006 to 2010, he was deployed to monitor work carried out by Property Services Agents (PSAs). Mr Leung had to ensure that the standard of repairs and maintenance work of the PSAs met the HA’s requirements and that requests from tenants were properly entertained. He recalled that everyday was a challenge during his four-year tenure. For example, a water pipe leak in one flat required him to check all the neighbouring flats to see whether or not they were also affected. Mr Leung says, “When facing pressure at work, adopting a relaxed mood and an attitude of sparing no effort to solve problems are equally important.”

During the past two years, Mr Leung has been responsible for implementing the “Total Maintenance Scheme” (TMS) in Kwai Chung, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long districts. “We work proactively and approach each of the flats to ask tenants if they need assistance in repairs and follow-up work on areas such as walls, floors, windows, drains, water, doors, gates, electricity, reception of signals, security and gas.” he explains. Mr Leung also assisted in TMS promotion work. He helped distribute pamphlets, explained the details of TMS to tenants, and discussed with them their obligations and rights entitled under the scheme. He held meetings with estate management contractors to strengthen communication and to provide tenants with better services. “We feel deeply honoured when we know that our team was selected to receive the Award for Best Servicing Team (Kwai Chung) in 2010,” Leung proudly said.

As the interview concluded, Mr Leung shared with Housing Dimensions a happy incident occurred recently, “When I was working in Cheung Shan Estate,” he says, “I met a colleague I knew from  the Highways Department 40 years ago. It was wonderful to meet old friends when I am on the verge of retirement.” Talking about his attitude to work in the past years, Mr Leung summed up, “Don’t ask for rewards and recognition, just do your best to work hard and have no regrets.” Housing Dimensions wishes him the best of health and a happy retirement.