URA statement: Arrangements for relocation of fixed stall operators at Mut Wah Street and Hip Wo Street bazaars

To tie in with the development of the Kwun Tong Town Centre project of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), the fixed stall operators of the temporary bazaars at Mut Wah Street and Hip Wo Street in Kwun Tong will be relocated to the interim bazaar being built by the URA at the former Kwun Tong Central Government Offices in March / April this year. The new interim market provides much better facilitates for business than the existing bazaar and is indeed very close to the MTR Kwun Tong Station.

Currently there are 112 licensed fixed stall operators at the two bazaars and 7 licensed on-street operators in the redevelopment area. The relocation arrangements are as follows:

• Ex-gratia allowances

All licensed fixed stall and on-street operators are expected to move out before 28 February 2014. Each of them will be given an amount of $64,000 as special subsidies to alleviate their financial expenses related to relocation. In addition to the special subsidy, each operator will be offered an additional sum of $32,000 if he/she moves out before 4 February 2014 as an early moving out subsidy. For those operators who elect to surrender their licences to the Government on or before 4 February 2014, they will receive an allowance of $120,000 from the URA.

According to the consent documents received from the licensed operators so far, a total of 110 operators have opted to move out on 4 February 2014 while 4 have chosen surrender of licenses to the Government on 4 February 2014.  Another 4 have opted to move out on 28 February 2014.

• Living allowances

For those licensed operators who have moved out on or before 28 February 2014, the URA, having considered the requests of the operators, would release a monthly living allowance of $6,000 per stall from 1 March 2014 onwards, as subsidies for each of the operators until they are able to move into the new interim bazaar to continue their businesses.

• Storage

Prior to moving into the new interim bazaar, the URA will provide suitable spaces in the Kwun Tong Town Centre for the hawkers to store their goods free of charge.

The URA has all along proactively maintained discussions with the fixed stall operators to solicit their views on the transitional arrangements. The above arrangements have the full support of the Kwun Tong District Environment and Hygiene Committee which concerns, among other things, the reprovision of the hawker bazaars. The URA will continue to work hard to assist their operators to
relocate to the new interim bazaar and their eventual relocation to the permanent market upon its completion.

(ENDS)