Press Releases
Year 2003
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2 Mar 2003
URA web site becomes more informative and user-friendly
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has completed a major enhancement to its web site to make it a richer and more user-friendly source of public information, a spokesman for the Authority announced today (Sunday). The web site has been redesigned and enriched in content, in response to increased public interest in the multi-faceted work of the URA. An important objective of the web site is to make more people understand that urban renewal is not just about demolition of old buildings to make way for new ones. Rehabilitation of buildings, preservation of historic architecture area, local characteristics, and community neighbourhood are also indispensable tools of urban renewal, the spokesman said. The enhanced web site now provides a 6-minute video that explains the '4Rs' concept of t
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23 Jan 2003
Revision of URA re-housing costs
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has reached a preliminary understanding with the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) on a new financial arrangement to reduce the cost of public rental re-housing for tenants affected by urban redevelopment projects. Under the new arrangement, the URA will pay the HA an average of about $113,400 per flat in public rental estates in urban or extended urban areas for re-housing a family. This represents a reduction of about 65% of the current level of payment by the URA. The arrangement is the result of a review between the two organisations on the basis of calculating the notional cost incurred by the HA in providing rental flats to families affected by redevelopment projects. The URA Board today (Thursday) endorsed the new arrangement in principle, subjec
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16 Jan 2003
Western Market Neighbourhood Idea Competition
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Thursday) launched the Western Market Neighbourhood Idea Competition inviting ideas and themes for the revitalisation of the area surrounding the Western Market. The revitalisation boundary covers part of Des Voeux Road Central, Morrison Street, Wing Lok Street, Bonham Strand, New Market Street and On Tai Street, aiming at exploring innovative and practical ideas that help draw pedestrians, create activity hubs and improve visual attractiveness. Within the boundary, there are four main items that require improvements: visual improvement to the MTR vent shaft to the south of Western Market; physical improvement to the Des Voeux Road Central tram station near Western Market; pavement improvement and widening works along Morrison Street; and re
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15 Jan 2003
Urban Renewal Social Service Team in Central & Western District
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today signed a service agreement with St James' Settlement (SJS) for the setting up of an urban renewal social service team to provide assistance for residents affected by urban renewal projects in Central & Western District within the next two years. The team, comprising three registered social workers, will focus on providing practical assistance and personal counselling to residents affected by the URA's recently announced redevelopment project at First Street and Second Street. The project is estimated to involve 430 households with about 1,000 residents. "Redevelopment of an old residential area will inevitably give rise to various issues such as re-housing and changes in everyday life for the residents affected. We must therefore ensure that appro
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3 Jan 2003
URA raises $3.6b revolving credit and term loan facility
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) signed a $3.6 billion syndicated revolving credit and term loan facility with 12 international and local banks in Hong Kong today (Friday). This is the first syndicated loan facility raised by the URA since its inception in May 2001. Mr. Billy Lam, Managing Director of the URA said the facility has attracted enthusiastic response from the banking sector and was substantially oversubscribed at the general syndication stage. In view of the favourable response, the URA has decided to raise the final facility amount to $3.6 billion from $3 billion, after carefully considering its funding requirements for the next few years. Mr. Lam said that the facility would be used for financing a number of redevelopment projects as well as refinancing part of its exis
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31 Dec 2002
URA invites proposals for Western Market
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has requested 20 interested parties to submit detailed proposals for the management, maintenance and letting of the Western Market, a 96-year-old historic monument located in Sheung Wan, a URA spokesman said today (Tuesday). The URA aims to use the Western Market as the anchor of a revitalisation plan to regenerate the Sheung Wan district into a more vibrant area of commercial and business activities. These interested parties have responded to an invitation for Expression of Interest issued by the Authority earlier this year. The exercise involves a gross floor area of approximately 30,000 square feet at the Western Market, excluding about 9,700 square feet of the first floor which has been tenanted to a number of cloth traders. The spokesman said tha
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12 Dec 2002
MOU signed between URA and HKHS
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding today (Thursday) to enter into a long-term strategic partnership for the implementation of urban renewal projects. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), HKHS will initially focus on seven projects clustered in Sham Shui Po and Shaukiwan and will undertake to implement them in line with existing policies of the URA. The MOU also states that co-operation between the two organisations may, in due course, extend to other projects. The MOU further provides that like URA, HKHS may rehabilitate or preserve buildings in a project site as well as redevelop them. Both organisations hailed the partnering as a breakthrough in expediting the work of urban renewal and bringing abou
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29 Nov 2002
URA Unveils New Project in Western District
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today announced the implementation of a $1,236 million redevelopment project at First Street/Second Street, Western District as part of its first five-year Corporate Plan and first-year Business Plan. A task force of some 85 staff began a three-day survey (today to Sunday) to update the occupancy records of an estimated 430 households. This is the sixth project commenced by the Authority this year. It is also among the 25 projects announced by the former Land Development Corporation in 1998, which are treated as priority projects by the URA. Outlining project details at an operation briefing for the media, Mr Stephen C.M. Ng, District Development Director of URA, said: "This project is located in one of the oldest districts in Hong Kong. It
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21 Nov 2002
URA issues purchase offers for Reclamation Street Project
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) will issue offer letters to the owners affected by the Reclamation Street redevelopment project next Monday (25 November) to purchase their properties by private agreement. Affected owner-occupiers of domestic properties will be offered $3,111 per square foot of the saleable area. At a meeting today (21 November 2002), the URA Board agreed that acquisition offers be issued to the owners affected by the Reclamation Street project, the fifth commenced by the URA this year. The Authority estimates that about $92 million will be spent on acquiring the 24 property interests in the project. Overall, the total development cost of the project is estimated at about $220 million. The purchase offers, which are open for acceptance within 60 days, are based on t
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18 Oct 2002
URA unveils new project in Mong Kok
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today announced the implementation of a $220 million redevelopment project at Reclamation Street, Mong Kok as part of its first five-year Corporate Plan and first-year Business Plan. A task force of 20 staff began a three-day survey (today to Sunday) to update the occupancy records of an estimated 120 households. This is the fifth project commenced by the URA this year. In January, the Authority implemented three "early launch" projects in Sham Shui Po, Tai Kok Tsui and Wan Chai. It then launched another project in Sham Shui Po in July following the approval of its Corporate Plan and Business Plan by Government. Outlining project details at an operation briefing for the media, Mr Stephen C.M. Ng, District Development Director of URA, said: "The bu