Author Archives: hksar gov

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, March 28, 2025 is 106.7 (same as yesterday’s index). read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, March 28, 2025 is 106.7 (same as yesterday’s index). read more

     The Town Planning Board today (March 28) announced amendments to the approved Tai Po Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
      
     The amendments mainly involve (i) rezoning a site at the junction of Lo Fai Road and Ting Kok Road from “Green Belt” (“GB”) and an area shown as ‘Road’ to “Residential (Group A)11” to facilitate a public housing development under a Land Sharing Pilot Scheme (LSPS) application (LSPS Site A); (ii) rezoning a site at Ting Kok Road to the north of Fortune Garden from “GB” and an area shown as ‘Road’ to “Residential (Group A)12” to facilitate a private housing development under a LSPS application (LSPS Site B); (iii) rezoning a site to the north of Shek Kwu Lung from “Open Space” to “Government, Institution or Community (3)”; (iv) rezoning two parcels of land adjoining the LSPS Site A and Site B along Ting Kok Road from areas shown as ‘Road’ to “GB”; (v) rezoning a strip of land to the east of the LSPS Site B along Ting Kok Road from “GB” to an area shown as ‘Road’; (vi) rezoning two parcels of land to the north of Fortune Garden along Ting Kok Road from “Residential (Group C)1” (“R(C)1”) to areas shown as ‘Road’; and (vii) rezoning a parcel of land to the north of Fortune Garden along Ting Kok Road from an area shown as ‘Road’ to “R(C)1”.
 
     The Notes and Explanatory Statement of the OZP are amended to take into account the above amendments. Opportunity is also taken to update the general information of various land use zones and the planning scheme area, where appropriate.
 
     The draft Tai Po OZP No. S/TP/31, incorporating the amendments, is available for public inspection during office hours at (i) the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, (ii) the Planning Enquiry Counters, (iii) the Sha Tin, Tai Po and North District Planning Office, (iv) the Tai Po District Office, and (v) the Tai Po Rural Committee.
 
     Any person may make written representations in respect of the amendments to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before May 28. Any person who intends to make a representation is advised to read the Town Planning Board Guidelines No. 29C on “Submission and Processing of Representations and Further Representations” (TPB PG-No. 29C).

     Submission of a representation should comply with the requirements set out in TPB PG-No. 29C. In particular, the representer should take note of the following:
 
* If the representer fails to provide his or her full name and the first four alphanumeric characters of his or her Hong Kong identity card or passport number as required under TPB PG-No. 29C, the representation submitted shall be treated as not having been made; and
* The Secretariat of the Town Planning Board reserves the right to require the representer to provide identity proof for verification.

     The Guidelines and the submission form are available at the above locations (i) and (ii) as well as the Town Planning Board’s website (www.tpb.gov.hk).

     Copies of the draft Tai Po OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centre in North Point. The electronic version of the OZP can be viewed on the Town Planning Board’s website (www.tpb.gov.hk). read more

     The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Nam Sang Wai Outline Zoning Plan (OZP). 
      
     “The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment within the Nam Sang Wai area”, a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (March 28). 
      
     The planning scheme area, covering about 600 hectares, is bounded by San Tin Highway and Castle Peak Road – Tam Mi in the east, Mai Po and Fairview Park area in the north, Shan Pui River and Yuen Long New Town in the west and Shan Pui Chung Hau Tsuen and Castle Peak Road – Yuen Long in the south.

     The approved OZP has incorporated amendments shown on the draft Nam Sang Wai OZP No. S/YL-NSW/9, which mainly involve (i) rezoning an area to the north of Ho Chau Road from “Residential (Group D)” (“R(D)”) to “Residential (Group A)1”, “Residential (Group A)2” and “Other Specified Uses” (“OU”) annotated “Pumping Station” to facilitate public housing and private residential developments under a Land Sharing Pilot Scheme application; (ii) rezoning a strip of land to the north of Ho Chau Road from “R(D)” to “Village Type Development” (“V”) as an extension of the adjacent “V” zone, with the remaining knoll from “R(D)” to “Green Belt” to reflect the existing condition; and (iii) rezoning a site at Wing Kei Tsuen from “OU” annotated “Comprehensive Development to include Wetland Restoration Area” to “OU” annotated “Comprehensive Development to include Wetland Restoration Area 1” for a private comprehensive residential development.
      
     The Notes and Explanatory Statement of the OZP have been amended to reflect the above amendments. Opportunity is also taken to update the general information of various land use zonings and the planning circumstances, where appropriate. 
      
     The approved Nam Sang Wai OZP No. S/YL-NSW/10 is available for public inspection during office hours at (i) the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, (ii) the Planning Enquiry Counters, (iii) the Fanling, Sheung Shui and Yuen Long East District Planning Office, (iv) the Yuen Long District Office, (v) the San Tin Rural Committee, and (vi) the Shap Pat Heung Rural Committee.
 
     Copies of the approved OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centre in North Point. The electronic version of the OZP can be viewed on the Town Planning Board’s website (www.tpb.gov.hk). read more

     A new round of the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) will open for application from tomorrow (March 29). Prospective applicants for civil service posts at the degree or professional level should apply through the online application system on the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) webpage before the deadline of 11.59pm on April 11, 2025. 
 
     A spokesman for the CSB reminded persons planning to apply for civil service posts at the degree or professional level in the near future that they are required to have valid CRE results and should make use of the opportunity to take part in this round of examination, tentatively scheduled to be held on June 7, 2025. 
 
     The pool of eligible candidates for civil service jobs requiring an undergraduate degree has been expanded to students in their third year of undergraduate studies (in a four-year curriculum). Therefore, this round of examination will be open to holders of a degree, or a professional qualification meeting the entry requirement of the posts, or undergraduate students graduating in the academic year of 2024/25 or 2025/26.
 
     The CRE consists of three papers, namely the Use of Chinese (UC), the Use of English (UE) and the Aptitude Test (AT). Results in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE) or other specified public examinations are accepted as equivalents to different levels of results for the UC and UE. Therefore, applicants who have attained the specified results in the language subjects concerned in the HKDSEE or other specified public examinations will not be arranged to take the UC and/or UE paper(s). Please visit the CSB webpage (www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html) for the specified results and the language subjects concerned. Applicants should note that different civil service posts have different Chinese and English language proficiency requirements. No public examination results are accepted as being equivalent to the AT. Applicants for some civil service posts at the degree or professional level are required to obtain a pass result in the AT paper in order to be eligible for applying for the posts concerned.
           
     Applicants may choose to take any of the CRE papers in the coming examination.
 
     The CSB will soon launch a digitalised Basic Law and National Security Law Test (Degree/Professional Grades) (BLNST) providing a digitalised examination service at a fixed test centre so that candidates can take the test throughout the year rather than on designated test dates. In view of the coming launch of the digitalised BLNST, with effect from June 2025, the CSB will no longer organise the paper-based BLNST on the same day of the CRE in Hong Kong. Details of the implementation of the digitalised BLNST will be announced in the second quarter of 2025.

     The application details for the new round of the CRE will be uploaded to the CSB webpage (www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html) tomorrow. Applicants must apply through an online application system on the CSB’s website. Applications submitted by post, fax or e-mail will not be accepted.

     General enquiries may be directed to the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at 2537 6429 or by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk. read more