We bring you an update on the saga of the Hong Kong Sports Institute's spanking new multimillion-dollar boathouse near Sha Tin. Readers may recall that several months ago we reported that the building had been designed with a sloping floor to enable water, from wet boats, to drain out of the building.
That was the plan until its effect was negated by the Buildings Department which, in its wisdom, decided to enforce a rule requiring it to have a 150-millimetre step between the pavement and the building. The rule was really designed for office buildings and office lobbies to prevent water from getting into the buildings and to stop property owners from making claims against the government when the floors of their buildings got wet.
However, wet floors are hardly a problem for boathouses. But to get an occupation permit, the step had to be built. This splendid edifice has been completed for some months now. But there is just one small snag. There is no way of getting the boats into the river. People are carrying the smaller boats about 100 yards along the cycle path to the Sha Tin Rowing Centre which has a ramp enabling the boats to be lowered into the water. That is providing they don't trip over the recently erected step or take out any cyclists en route.
We understand that a ramp is expected to be installed within six months in the nearby nullah which feeds in the shimmering Shing Mun River. We are told that one of the reasons why this final link has taken so long to get in place is that while it only required permission from a few government departments to build the boathouse, erecting the ramp required the say-so of some 11 departments.
So, the strategy adopted appears to have been to build the boathouse first and use this as leverage to force the government departments into line over the ramp. Refusal to grant permission could result in accusations of wasting millions of dollars of public money.
We hear of a new illegal structure scandal. This one involves the Hong Kong Golf Club's Deep Water Bay Course on the south side of Hong Kong Island.