I refer to your letter headlined 'North Point redevelopment sends poor message' (South China Morning Post, March 7) on the redevelopment of North Point Estate. The Housing Authority redevelops older housing estates in order to improve the living condition of our tenants. The North Point Estate redevelopment is necessary as all the blocks are 43 years old. Redevelopment is possible at North Point as there are suitable and sufficient flats within the same locality to re-house those affected. The scheduled completion of Hing Wah Estate and Oi Tung Estate in early 2001 offers an opportunity not always available. The Authority's decision is also prompted by the economic benefits of redevelopment. One of the options under consideration is to redevelop the existing estate. This would yield about a 33 per cent increase in flat production. The second option is to redevelop the estate together with adjacent sites including the bus terminus and ferry piers. This wider approach, we believe, has the potential for a greater community gain. Not only will flat production be significantly higher, there will be a more efficient use of land and provision of new district facilities. The Authority is now studying the feasibility of this redevelopment approach. In the meantime, we are most happy to listen to the views of the residents and District Council members. As the Authority has yet to come up with a redevelopment option, your reader's accusation that the project represents 'a collusion between the authority and big developers' could not be further from the truth. So far, the Authority has made no contact with any private developers on the proposed redevelopment, whose participation we are only exploring as an alternative to doing it ourselves. K H LAU Business Director/Allocation and Marketing Housing Department
