Author Archives: hksar gov

     â€‹The Town Planning Board today (March 21) announced amendments to the approved Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

     The amendments mainly involve (i) rezoning two sites at Choi Hing Road and Choi Ha Road from “Government, Institution or Community” (“G/IC”) to “Residential (Group A)4”; and (ii) rezoning two strips of land at Choi Hing Road from “G/IC” to areas shown as ‘Road’ and a strip of land at Choi Ha Road from “G/IC” to “G/IC(3)” to reflect the as-built conditions.
      
     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 Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay OZP No. S/K13/33, 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 Kowloon District Planning Office, and (iv) the Kwun Tong District Office.
      
     Any person may make written representations in respect of the amendments to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before May 21. 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) and the Town Planning Board’s website (www.tpb.gov.hk).

     Copies of the draft Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay 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 Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (March 21) released the latest grading of water quality for 10 gazetted beaches that are open for swimming.
 
     Nine beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), and one as Fair (Grade 2).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:          

Big Wave Bay Beach	Lido Beach
Casam Beach	Repulse Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach	Silver Mine Bay Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach	Stanley Main Beach
Golden Beach

 
Grade 2 beach is:

Silverstrand Beach

 
     Compared with the grading released last week, there was no change in the grading for these beaches.
 
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
 
     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, an EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a tropical cyclone or heavy rainfall.
 
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD’s website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666. Members of the public can also obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information for all beaches that are open for swimming through the EPD’s dedicated webpage on the beach water quality forecast (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast). read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, March 21, 2025 is 106.5 (up 0.2 against yesterday’s index). read more

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is conducting comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor the situation and continue to implement the enhanced testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on March 20 to noon today (March 21), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 117 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24, 2023, to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 123 898 samples of food imported from Japan (including 81 334 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 28 578 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:        The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) endorsed today (March 21) the tightening of "Well-off Tenants Policies&… read more