Urban Renewal Authority 2018-19 Annual Report

20 MANAGING DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT The Yau Mong District Study is conducive to our long-term urban regeneration work as it brings along strategic proposals and development blueprints formulated from a more holistic perspective. This, in turn, will facilitate the implementation of 5R works under the three-step approach, which refers to holistic planning and project selection, followed by an implementation mechanism, as a way to realise the strategy of adopting a “district- based” approach in urban renewal as stipulated in the Urban Renewal Strategy. Such a strategic move is instrumental to achieve the vision of urban renewal to improve the standard of living for the people and to sustain the development of a quality city. Instilling Culture of Preventive Maintenance with Proactive Support to Owners As the problem of building decay is worsening both in terms of pace and scale, solutions to tackle the issue at its root are being sought by encouraging owners to assume more responsibility in carrying out building maintenance on their own properties before the building becomes derelict. In addition to providing various financial assistance and professional support to owners for undertaking building repair work on a continuous basis, the URA has in recent years played the role of a facilitator to proactively reach out to owners and launch new initiatives to help them overcome the difficulties in organising building rehabilitation works. The “Smart Tender” Building Rehabilitation Facilitating Services (“Smart Tender”), which was launched in May 2016, is one significant initiative of those. With the provision of independent and professional consultancy services and practical tools, such as the electronic tendering platform, Smart Tender helps ensure fairness in the tender process, minimising the risk of bid-rigging, hence bolstering owners’ confidence in pursuing building repair works. The all-in-one Building Rehabilitation Platform (BRP), which was launched in March this year, is another effort aimed at promoting self-assisted building maintenance to owners by equipping them with comprehensive knowledge on building rehabilitation that covers the “Six major steps”, namely the reaching of resolution to implement building maintenance; defining the scope of work; preparing works tender; appointing works contractor; commencing works and conducting works inspection; and completion of works. In setting up the BRP, the URA has pulled together efforts from the industry’s key stakeholders including professional bodies and works contractors’ associations, alongside the support of government departments and law enforcement agencies who play an advisory role, with a view to provide trusted and credible services for building owners to count on. In addition to empowering building owners with better knowledge and technical know-how, the URA also commenced the New Building Rehabilitation Strategy Study in 2017. This was aimed at conducting in-depth analyses on a territory-wide basis of building age and condition, the degree and complexity of maintenance required for different types of buildings, as well as challenges expected and, hence, the level of assistance needed by owners. The Study will also examine relevant provisions and regulatory framework supervising building maintenance and management in order to formulate a comprehensive and holistic strategy, as well as forward-looking initiatives on building rehabilitation for recommendation to the government and industry.