Press Releases
Year 2005
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22 Apr 2005
URA Welcomes New Appointments to the Board
The Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), Mr Edward Cheng Wai-sun, today (Friday) welcomes the appointment of the Hon Alan Leong Kah-kit and the Hon Howard Young as non-executive directors of the URA Board. "With their profound expertise and experience, Mr Leong and Mr Young will certainly be able to make significant contributions to the work of the URA in fulfilling its mission of achieving a sustainable urban renewal programme - one that will not only improve the livelihood of residents living in the old districts but also provide a continuous driving force for Hong Kong's economic development," Mr Cheng said. "We look forward to working closely together as a team with our stakeholders in the community in taking forward our initiatives to achieve our goal," he added. Mr Chen
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18 Mar 2005
URA launches $100m project for cultural and creative industries
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) announces today (Friday) a $100 million project, the Mallory Street revitalisation project, to help foster Hong Kong's development of cultural and creative industries. The project calls for the acquisition of two rows of 10 early twentieth century shop-houses in Mallory Street and Burrows Street, Wan Chai. Upon completion of the planning and acquisition procedures, the URA will refurbish some of the buildings and turn them into a haven for operators of cultural and creative industries. The URA project is inspired by the Government's Policy Address in January which highlights the "the importance of rejuvenating old districts in cities to create a cultural atmosphere, thereby attracting talents, fostering cultural and creative industries and developing
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15 Mar 2005
URA issues acquisition offers for two Tai Kok Tsui projects
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Tuesday) issued offer letters to owners of 370 property interests in Tai Kok Tsui to acquire their properties within the boundaries of the Larch Street/Fir Street and Pine Street/Anchor Street redevelopment projects. The total acquisition and rehousing cost is estimated to be about $1.13 billion. Affected owner-occupiers of domestic properties will be offered $4,038 per square foot on a saleable area basis. Built in the 60's, most of the properties are in a dilapidated condition. As a whole, their open market value is estimated to be about $1,300 per square foot of saleable area. The URA acquires property interests by private agreements with individual owners. The acquisition offers are based on the Government's Home Purchase Allowance (HPA) po
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11 Mar 2005
URA commences planning for two new projects in Sham Shui Po
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Friday) commences application for the statutory planning approval of two new redevelopment projects in Sham Shui Po to improve the living environment of about 800 residents and further prevent urban decay in the district. Due to their proximity to each other and that one of them is relatively small in size, the URA proposes to merge the two projects at Lai Chi Kok Road / Kweilin Street and Yee Kuk Street into a Comprehensive Development Area scheme for better planning and land utilization including much needed open space for public enjoyment. The URA has to obtain consent of the Town Planning Board (TPB) and approval by the Chief Executive in Council for the scheme plan before it proceeds with acquisition of the 160 property interests involved
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8 Mar 2005
Press Statement by the Urban Renewal Authority
In response to media enquiries on a case of the District Court today (Tuesday) in connection with URA projects, a spokesman of the Urban Renewal Authority issues the following statement :- "The Urban Renewal Authority attaches great importance to the honesty of its staff, the integrity of its operation procedure and the need to protect sensitive information in order to safeguard against any abuse of its compensation policy. The Authority commends the ICAC for its success in this investigation and hopes that the verdict today would pose a deterrent to those who intend to conspire in abusing the Authority's compensation policy. The Authority is seeking further assistance from the Corruption Prevention Department of the ICAC in reviewing its operation procedures in order to minimise oppor
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31 Jan 2005
URA announces appointments to District Advisory Committees
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Monday) announced new appointments to its four existing District Advisory Committees that reflect views and aspirations of the local community and provide advice on urban renewal concerns at the district level. The appointments altogether comprise 61 people from different walks of life ranging from flat owners, tenants, district leaders and social workers to professionals, academics and businessmen. The committees which were first set up in January 2002 cover Wan Chai, Central and Western, Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts where the URA has commenced most of its urban renewal projects. The committees are chaired by URA Board members, Miss Maria Tam, Mr. Barry Cheung, Mrs. Peggy Lam and Professor Cecilia Chan respectively so as to provide
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26 Jan 2005
URA widens rehab schemes for 165 buildings
A total of 165 more residential buildings became eligible for assistance under the Urban Renewal Authority's two rehabilitation schemes as the URA today (Wednesday) announced an extension to cover 20-year-old buildings in the urban area. The announcement came as the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr. Michael Suen, visited the URA's rehabilitation and redevelopment projects in Tai Kok Tsui and listened to the views of small owners and residents. In April last year the URA started two schemes, an extended rehabilitation incentives trial scheme and a rehabilitation loan and grant scheme, that offer assistance to an estimated 540 buildings of 30 years old and above in five years' time. So far 82 buildings comprising 8,170 units either have joined the schemes or are in the proces
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25 Jan 2005
Langham Place kick-starts regeneration of Mongkok
The $11 billion urban renewal project Langham Place which is expected to kick-start a sustained regeneration process in Mongkok and become a model for future urban redevelopment projects was officially opened by the Chief Executive of HKSAR, Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, today (Tuesday). Redeveloped from what was known as the Mongkok Six Streets, Langham Place stands as a flagship redevelopment project and a milestone in Hong Kong's history of urban renewal. It boosts 1.8 million square feet of floor area comprising an intelligent office tower, a 665-room five-star hotel and a 15-level shopping mall, all held together by a glass atrium with a "digital sky roof." The project is a joint venture between the Urban Renewal Authority and local developer Great Eagle Holdings Limited. The flagship proje
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12 Jan 2005
Response Statement by URA Chairman to CE's Policy Address
The Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority, Mr Edward Cheng, makes the following remarks in response to the Policy Address of the SAR Chief Executive: The Urban Renewal Authority is much encouraged by the policy on urban renewal announced by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address today. The URA welcomes the policy and will work to the best of its ability to support the implementation of his policy. The URA particularly welcomes the Chief Executive's announcement that the Hong Kong Housing Society would join hands with the URA in the prevention of urban decay by launching a 10-year, $3 billion Assisted Building Management and Maintenance Scheme. With an estimated 11,000 buildings lacking owners' corporation or any other form of proper management, the urban decay problem is acute a
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8 Jan 2005
Insurance Subsidy for URA's Rehabilitated Buildings
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today introduced a new subsidy to owners of buildings that have completed comprehensive rehabilitation works under URA's voluntary schemes to help them secure public liability insurance (PLI) for their buildings. Announcing the subsidy as the latest in a series of initiatives to promote building rehabilitation, the Chairman of the URA's Planning, Development and Conservation Committee, Professor David Lung, said today (Saturday) that there has been widespread concern among property owners about their liability for neglecting building management and maintenance following a recent court case involving the Albert House in Aberdeen, in which all the building owners had to jointly shoulder the burden of a $25 million compensation in a fatal building accident.