bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

New headquarters for the Government and Legislative Council will be built on the Tamar site, with $6.4 billion to be spent on construction.

The new complex, which could be up to 50 storeys high, is scheduled for completion in 2007.

Although officials have made no estimate of the prized site's value, they say it will be approximately matched by the sale of the Central Government Offices and the Murray Building under plans announced yesterday. Industry estimates for the waterfront Tamar site have ranged from $10 billion to $16 billion.

Part of the so-called 'civic corridor' will be community facilities and a waterfront promenade. Design and construction will be put up for open tender.

Officials said the development would create 5,000 jobs, claiming the overall economic benefits exceeded the commercial value of the site next to the PLA Garrison.

The Secretary for Planning and Lands, John Tsang Chun-wah, said the decision to build on the Tamar site instead of selling it was taken after considering the needs of the Government, the projected demand for office space and overall planning for the Central waterfront.

Under the scheme, the Central Government Offices in Lower Albert Road and the Murray Building in Garden Road will be auctioned to private developers for redevelopment. Mr Tsang declined to estimate the value of any of the sites.

However, he said: 'They [Tamar, compared to the existing offices] are nearly the same.

'[The project] is cost-effective as it could also save maintenance costs and rental expenditure of other government offices accommodated in commercial buildings.

'It will not cause any significant impact on the supply of grade A offices in the short and medium term.' He added that the supply of such offices was projected to be slightly higher than demand until 2010.

A decision on the future of the Tamar site has been put off since 1998 in the wake of the Asian economic crisis.

The new complex will occupy 2.2 hectares of the 4.2-hectare Tamar site and provide total gross floor area of 165,000 square metres. A separate 13.2-hectare promenade on a yet-to-be reclaimed strip extending from the Star Ferry piers to the Convention Centre will provide a wide range of public facilities, including an exhibition gallery and leisure facilities.

The project's height limit of 180 metres corresponds to a building of 40 to 50 storeys.

Housed in the complex will be the offices of the chief executive, the chief secretary, the financial secretary and the secretary for justice, as well as the offices of all policy bureaus.

The site's remaining two hectares are reserved as open space.

The design and construction contract will be awarded through international open tender. Bidders are asked to submit a conceptual plan, with shortlisted entries providing detailed design and construction plans.

Mr Tsang said: 'The design has to be world class and bear the characteristics of Hong Kong. The bidder should be able to meet the tight time frame as well.'

He added that the principle of small government was being adhered to, as all policy bureaus would be in one building.

He also denied that the cost of $6.4 billion was extravagant, saying the sum would be spent in stages.

Director of Planning Bosco Fung Chee-keung said the gross floor area obtained by redeveloping the two existing government buildings would be similar to that of the Tamar site.

Director of Administration Andrew Wong Ho-yuen said the existing government headquarters and the Murray Building, built in 1957 and 1969 respectively, were too old to install hi-tech facilities.

'The plan could also save the maintenance cost of the old headquarters and the rent paid for government offices in other commercial buildings, which is $100 million per year,' he said.

In a paper to legislators, the Government said the Tamar site was the only feasible location for the government complex. Suggestions that it be built on the site of City Hall would not meet the time frame, while redeveloping the existing sites would take four years longer.

Developers and surveyors generally backed the decision to not sell the site, citing the abundant office supply and the sluggish economic conditions.

The chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Christopher Cheng Wai-chee, said that the plan would help enhance efficiency by putting various offices into one building.

Graphic: LAND01GET



Government HQ moving to Tamar