Press Releases
Year 2009
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19 Oct 2009
Sino Land Company Limited wins URA’s Development Project at Yuet Wah Street Site, Kwun Tong
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Monday) announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sino Land Company Limited, Central Wisdom Limited has won the joint development contract for the Yuet Wah Street Site in Kwun Tong in a public tender exercise. The site is located at the junction of Yuet Wah Street and Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong covering an area of about 4,326 square metres. Upon completion, it is expected to deliver a maximum gross floor area of about 27,830 square metres for residential and Government, Institution and Community uses. Sino Land Company Limited is one of the eight tender submissions received for the joint development project. The URA Board after careful consideration of all the tender submissions agreed that the offer made by Sino Land Company Limited met all
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19 Oct 2009
URA to earmark $500 million for 'Central Oasis'
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Monday) announced its preliminary conservation and revitalisation plans for the Central Market. Total cost for the rejuvenated Central Oasis is now estimated to be in the region of $500 million which will be incurred to renovate and refurbish the entire historic building as well as provide greenery, a public rest and leisure area amidst the hustle and bustle of Central. An advisory committee with broad representation will be set up to provide views and input to the URA. This initiative is a prompt response to the announcement by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address of 14 October that the URA would be tasked to conserve the Central Market, which forms part of a series of innovative projects to reinvigorate the legend of Central. Co-hosting
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14 Oct 2009
URA Response statement to the Policy Address
The Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority, Mr Barry Cheung, today made the following remarks in response to the Policy Address of the Chief Executive of the HKSAR: "The URA welcomes the policy directives on urban revitalisation announced by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address today. The initiatives will reinforce our continuing efforts to meet the changing aspirations of the community. We will now draw up detailed implementation plans for our board's approval. " The URA is especially honoured to have been given the important responsibility of revitalising the historic Central Market. A high proportion of the revitalised market will be designated as green, rest and leisure areas, turning it into a "Central Oasis" providing nearby office workers and the general public with a va
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9 Oct 2009
Tender closes for development of Yuet Wah Street Site, Kwun Tong
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Friday) announced that a total of eight tender offers have been received for the joint venture development of the Yuet Wah Street Site in Kwun Tong. A tender review panel will consider the tenders and make recommendation to the URA Board for a decision in due course. Fifteen submissions were received by the Authority in an expression of interest exercise for the project conducted earlier; 14 of them were invited to submit a tender for the project. The site is located at the junction of Hip Wo Street and Yuet Wah Street, Kwun Tong covering an area of about 4,326 square metres. Upon completion, it is expected to deliver a maximum gross floor area of about 27,830 square metres for residential and Government, Institution and Community uses. (E
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23 Sep 2009
Property acquisition for Anchor Street / Fuk Tsun Street Project in Tai Kok Tsui to start soon
The Land, Rehousing & Compensation Committee of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has resolved today (Wednesday) that eligible owner-occupiers of domestic properties affected by the Anchor Street / Fuk Tsun Street Project would be offered $6,607 per square foot of saleable floor area. The URA will issue offer letters to owners of 74 property interests by the end of this month. The acquisition offers for domestic properties are based on the Government's Home Purchase Allowance (HPA) policy in which HPA is the difference between the market value of the acquired property and that of a notional seven-year-old flat of similar size in a similar locality. In addition to the market value of the acquired properties, eligible owner-occupiers will receive the full HPA amount whereas eligible owner
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31 Aug 2009
URA welcomes re-appointment of Executive Director
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) Board today (Monday) welcomed the re-appointment of Ms Iris Tam Siu-ying as an Executive Director of the URA for another term of three years, effective from 1 September 2009. "As one of the Executive Directors of the URA, Ms Tam's vast knowledge and expertise in urban regeneration, in particular in the areas of town planning and sustainable development, are invaluable for advancing the Authority's missions," said the URA Chairman, Mr Barry Cheung. "We are now at a time when social expectations for urban renewal are rising and the Urban Renewal Strategy is under review seeking a revised direction, Ms Tam's solid experience gained in the field over last three years is definitely an asset to the URA to take forward the urban renewal programme," said Mr Che
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31 Aug 2009
URA initiates area-based revitalisation plan for Mong Kok
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) announced today that it proposed to implement a major revitalisation plan at a cost close to $100 million to uphold and enhance the local characters of a number of themed streets in Mong Kok. Input and support from the Yau Tsim Mong District Council and the local community will be sought to finalise the plan. The URA has been invited by the Government to implement some improvement projects under the "Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok", which was studied by the Planning Department between February 2006 and May 2009. Public consultation was also conducted and the public is generally supportive of the proposal. On the basis of the Government's area improvement plan, the URA has taken a step further and expanded the scope to an ar
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31 Aug 2009
Invitation to tender for development of Yuet Wah Street Site, Kwun Tong
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Monday) invited a total of 14 property developers/consortia to tender for the joint development of the Yuet Wah Street Site in Kwun Tong. The site is located at the junction of Hip Wo Street and Yuet Wah Street, Kwun Tong covering an area of about 4,326 square metres. Upon completion, it is expected to deliver a maximum gross floor area of about 27,830 square metres for residential and Government, Institution and Community uses. Following the expression of interest exercise which was closed on 10 July 2009, 15 submissions were received by the Authority. A tender review panel under the URA Board has decided to invite 14 interested parties for tender, after taking into consideration their experience and financial strength to undertake the develo
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21 Aug 2009
URA opens Multimedia Exploration Centre
The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), Mr Barry Cheung, today (Friday) officiated at the opening ceremony of the Authority's Urban Renewal Exploration Centre (UREC). Featuring multimedia facilities and interactive activities, the cyber-designed centre has on display exhibits and mock-up tenements such as a caged home and a partitioned room, where visitors can actually experience the poor living environment of residents in old districts. Visitors are encouraged to offer opinions and suggestions regarding the topic of urban renewal during their visit. At the opening ceremony, Mr Cheung said: "A key objective of the Exploration Centre is to support and enhance public understanding of the complex issue of urban renewal in Hon
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21 Jul 2009
First bond issue of URA receives enthusiastic support
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Tuesday) announced its debut issue of HK$1,500,000,000 three-year fixed rate bonds following the recent successful establishment of a Medium Term Note (MTN) Programme. Speaking at the bond issuing ceremony this afternoon, the Chairman of the URA, Mr Barry Cheung, said: "The MTN Programme is a milestone for the Authority since it came into operation in 2001. All along, we have been taking a prudent approach in financial management to ensure that our urban renewal initiatives are being undertaken in a cost-effective manner. We previously relied solely on bank facilities to meet our funding needs." In this regard, we have been exploring additional options to raise funds for our present and future projects. Riding on the current capital market en