Page 84 - URA Annual Report 2021-22

MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
With a wider application of new planning tools in the URA projects, we will in parallel expand the development of the Urban Renewal Information System (URIS) to include more advanced functions. They include automatic exploration of sites in old districts that are suitable for applying the transfer of plot ratio, moving data applications from 2D to 3D, and creating ‘digital twins’ in the virtual world for building clusters in old districts. All these initiatives will enable us to accelerate the formulation of different development options and assess their impact on the neighbourhood, thereby expediting the planning and execution of arduous redevelopment urban renewal projects.
Government Facilitation to Expedite Renewal Process
The Government has made positive moves to propose streamlining of development-related processes and procedures that are conducive to speeding up urban renewal.
In this regard, the URA has submitted a proposal to the Development Bureau in early 2022 proposing to streamline mechanisms and processes involved under different procedures in development based on URA’s past experiences in redevelopment projects, with a view to compressing project delivery cycles for the URA as well as the private sector. The proposals were well received by the Government and being taken forward progressively.
Meanwhile, in response to the calls to lower the compulsory sale application threshold to expedite redevelopment of aged buildings, the Government has been exploring further legislative amendments to the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance to achieve the objective. It is anticipated that lowering the 80% threshold for certain categories of buildings would help to increase private market participation in urban renewal work.
Enhancing the ‘Integrated Approach’ of Urban Renewal
The planning studies we have undertaken covered areas where they are characterised by a mix of redeveloped projects with individual single-block buildings constructed by private sector in recent years, and aged buildings in the locality, coupled with a lack of coordination in the overall planning and design for the built environment of the area.
In view of this, the challenge for future urban regeneration lies in integrating the old and new elements at planning level, and at the same time, increasing community facilities and retaining the local characteristics. We will take forward the redevelopment projects in Kowloon City as a test bed for adopting an integrated approach. By way of redevelopment, rehabilitation and the revitalisation works carried out in our projects, the overall built environment and public facilities of the area will be enhanced as a whole, as well as blending the old and new cityscapes upon redevelopment.
The adoption of this integrated approach to our urban renewal work will inevitably involve considerable expenses as it not only incur costs for the acquisition of property titles, but also the construction of new government facilities, in addition to the work on building rehabilitation, district preservation and revitalisation. Riding on the redevelopment project in Kowloon City, we shall carefully study the cost implications on our financial reserves and the work accordingly, so as to ensure sufficient resources will be available for the implementation of the integrated approach in our future redevelopment projects.
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