URA chief wants transferable plot ratios

The head of the Urban Renewal Authority said yesterday he hoped it would soon be possible to transfer the plot ratio of small, run-down buildings commonly known as 'toothpick blocks' to other sites. Barry Cheung Chun-yuen told Cable TV that if the plot ratio of such buildings could be transferred to other redevelopment projects in the same district, the sites could be used for recreational or social purposes. Projects that received the transferred plot ratios could have higher gross floor areas and profitability and thus subsidise projects on 'toothpick blocks'. Mr Cheung said he hoped the government would adopt the idea.