Urban Renewal Authority 2018-19 Annual Report

7 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT commercial, road network and leisure purposes. It also opens up the opportunity to explore the feasibility of underground land use for car parking, thus reducing the need for roadside parking space, thereby, releasing more space for pedestrian pathways and the relocation of shops for street vibrancy. Taking a step further from the district-based approach, the URA has embarked on a new direction of “planning-led” in redevelopment projects where holistic planning of the project site and its vicinity brings long-term benefit to the greater community. The two-year Yau Mong District Study will be completed next year. I look forward to seeing new solutions being formulated to enhance the land use and to unleash development potential of the district, as well as new implementation mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks being developed to undertake urban renewal with greater efficiency and effectiveness. Recommendations will then be fully discussed with the government and the public for consensus on new ways to tackle urban decay. Building Rehabilitation Paves the Way to Holistic Urban Renewal In the face of the aggravating problem of ageing buildings, redevelopment of dilapidated buildings alone could hardly keep pace with the problem. Emphasis should also be put on building maintenance as a way to alleviate the pressure to call for redevelopment. For the past six years, the URA has implemented and enhanced an array of building rehabilitation subsidy schemes and services to offer resources and technical assistance to owners in their building rehabilitation works. Last year, in support of the Government policy, the URA launched the Operation Building Bright 2.0 and the Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme, aiming to help owners of around 7,000 old building blocks to complete their rehabilitation or facilities enhancement works in the next six years. This will roughly translate to one in every three old building blocks, out of the 23,000 aged 30 years or more that require regular maintenance works, to benefit through the schemes. In addition, another new initiative, the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme, to be implemented in two phases over the next six years, will provide support to owners in enhancing the safety of the lifts of their buildings. All of these underpin the URA’s commitment to expanding its building rehabilitation works in both intensity and diversity. While these schemes are all one-off assistance, most owners remain uninterested in organising building maintenance works as they are deterred by a lack of knowledge in the relevant works and the fear of tender rigging. To address this need, the URA launched “Smart Tender” in 2016 to offer technical assistance to owners in procuring contractors and reducing the risks of tender rigging during their procurement of maintenance works. The service was well received among owners and owners’ corporations during the three years after launch, with over 900 applications, involving around 124,000 flats. The URA signs the Memorandum of Understanding with the Development Bureau for the launch of Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme. Commencing six projects under the district-based approach in To Kwa Wan, bringing more planning and social benefit to the community.