Page 65 - Urban Renewal Authority 2023-24 Annual Report

Assistance during Lift Repairs Chairman’s Statement
The URA is responsible for the management of the Government’s Lift
Modernisation Subsidy Scheme (LIMSS), which provides subsidies to
eligible domestic and composite building owners to carry out lift
improvement works to ensure safety. Up to June 2024, the URA has Around 3,000
Managing Director’s Statement
handled around 1,600 applications. About 970 application cases have
either been completed or are undergoing lift improvement works. & 980
The suspension of lift services during the implementation of improvement Number of stair-climber trips
works will inevitably restrict the movements of occupants with mobility or and meal deliveries that were Operating Review
health issues. To address this problem, the URA engages various non- provided through URA to
governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide social service support to residents of buildings
the needy when their buildings undergo lift improvements under LIMSS. undergoing lift improvements
These include the stair-climber service, grocery and meal delivery, as well respectively in 2023/24
as case management to provide necessary social services.

A story of a muscular dystrophy patient
during lift improvement works Corporate Sustainability

The URA went beyond providing basic assistance. In the
past year, a building in Mong Kok with lifts serving
alternate floors joined LIMSS. Among its residents was
Ms Leung, a middle-aged woman with muscular
dystrophy disease. As there was only one lift which
could reach her floor and the provision of daily stair
climbing services was impractical, the URA offered Ms
Leung and her husband a temporary apartment in one
of the URA’s rehousing blocks for a nominal fee during
the four-month period of lift service suspension. To
ensure the apartment can cater for the needs of Ms Management Discussion and Analysis
Leung, the URA enlisted the help of a professional
occupational therapist to recommend essential
modifications to the apartment. Additional fixtures and
special equipment for assisting her mobility within the
flat were installed. The couple resided in the apartment
for four months before moving back to their own flat
after the completion of the lift modernisation works.

With URA’s assistance, Ms Leung was able to live and
work as usual without any disruption by the lift
improvement works. This is one of many examples that
demonstrates URA’s commitment to ESG throughout Projects at a Glance
our projects and operations.

Ms Leung, whose electric wheelchair weighs 300 pounds, is unable to
use a stair climber for assistance in going up and down stairs. URA
then offers Ms Leung and her family a temporary apartment in one of
its rehousing blocks during the suspension of lift service due to
improvement works on the only lift in her building. Corporate Governance

URA ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 63