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Peggy Sito

Pokfulam, on the southwest of Hong Kong Island, has been the focus of attention since the Government announced it would locate the proposed $13 billion electronic commerce centre, Cyberport, in the district on a 26-hectare site in Telegraph Bay.

  The Government's decision to award the project's development rights to Pacific Century Group, owned by Li Ka-shing's second son Richard Li Tzar-kai, has been widely criticised.

  Political groups and developers have asked for an open tender for the project's residential development of about 3,000 units.

 Two-thirds of the project's 26 hectares will be used for offices and facilities. The other third will produce 4.39 million square feet of residential floor space.

  The Cyberport plan comes as the Government considers lifting a 20-year moratorium on new developments that has turned Pokfulam into a low-density residential area catering for middle-income earners.

  The halt to development was announced by the Government in 1970s as the population grew quickly with the development of new housing projects, including the public housing estate at Wah Fu.

 Buildings along Victoria Road and Mount Davis are low-rise of between three and six storeys.

 Major high-rise housing estates in Pokfulam include the Wah Fu Estate and Chi Fu Estate that were built in the 1970s and early 1980s.

 Chung Sen Surveyors director Cheng Wing-ming said as the Government had decided to develop the Cyberport in Pokfulam, it was logical that interest in the development potential of other areas in the district would be raised.

 Analysts said those developments would transform Pokfulam from a quiet residential area into a busy town.

 But Mr Cheng was concerned about whether the existing transport network would be sufficient to cater for future property developments.

 According to the Government's study, relaxation of the moratorium will make 21 plots of public land available on the market and increase the plot ratio in the area of three to five times.

 The land includes a large residential site at Pokfulam Road and another at Sha Wan Drive.

 The public sites are expected to create more than 5,000 apartments.

 About 32 private sites covering 6.73 hectares have potential for redevelopment if the plot ratio is raised.

 The move aims to raise the population in the area from its current level of less than 80,000 to 110,000.

  Hong Kong district planning officer Ling Kar-kan said improvement of the transport network could allow a higher growth potential.

 Infrastructure upgrades include road improvement in Victoria Road and the construction of Route Seven, which is being built in phases and will link Kennedy Town and Aberdeen.

 The Government's plan for changes at Pokfulam can be traced back to 1997 when Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa unveiled plans to raise SAR home ownership to 70 per cent of households through increasing the supply of residential land.

 Pokfulam and Lamma Island are an area with growth potential, according to the Hong Kong Territorial Development.

 Mr Ling said the study on the district's development potential was under way and the first phase was expected to be finalised this year.

 The Government has other ways, such as height restrictions, to block high-rise developments in the area.

 Development potential in some areas, such as the site in Bisney Road, will be restricted because of insufficient transport in the district.

 Mr Ling said Pokfulam would remain a district of predominantly low-rise development.



Pokfulam catches attention amid Cyberport controversy