The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Tsing Yi Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

     "The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment within the Tsing Yi area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (March 13).

     The planning scheme area, covering an area of about 1,067 hectares, covers the entire Tsing Yi Island.
 
     About 2.5 hectares of land are zoned "Commercial" for commercial developments, which may include hotels, offices, shops, services, places of entertainment and eating places.
 
     About 101.17 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group A)" for high-density residential developments. This zoning covers most of the existing private and public residential developments in the area. About 2.89 hectares of land is zoned "Residential (Group B)" covering the medium-density residential development known as Mount Haven at Liu To.
 
     About 17.25 hectares of land is zoned "Village Type Development", including areas to resite village houses affected by government projects. Except for St. Paul’s and Fishermen's Villages in Area 2 and Lutheran Village in Area 4, all the villages in Tsing Yi are village resites.
 
     About 147.87 hectares of land is zoned "Industrial". Industrial land along the southern and western coast has been developed for dockyards, boatyards and oil depots which require direct marine access. In addition, there are chemical industries on the southern part of Tsing Yi.
 
     About 43.59 hectares of land is zoned "Government, Institution or Community" for the provision of a wide range of facilities to meet the needs of Tsing Yi residents. Existing facilities include Tsing Yi Sports Ground, Tsing Yi and Tsing Yi Southwest Swimming Pools, district/divisional police stations, an ambulance depot, clinics, fire stations and schools, etc.   
 
     About 45.48 hectares of land is zoned "Open Space" for the provision of outdoor open-air public space for active and/or passive recreational uses. This zone comprises the Tsing Yi Park in Area 2, a waterfront promenade running along the coast of Area 3 in the east to Area 8 in the north, and the Tsing Yi Northeast Park to the west of Ching Tai Court and Cheung On Estate. Local open spaces are also provided in other zones to meet local demands.

     About 180.24 hectares of land is zoned "Other Specified Uses" ("OU") for specified uses including mainly the Container Terminal 9 development and back-up areas and land reserved for container-related uses, cargo handling area, marine-related uses, boatyards and marine-oriented industrial uses, etc. It also includes the "OU" annotated "Business" zone at the Tsing Yi Industrial Area intended for general business uses.  

     About 422.78 hectares of land is zoned "Green Belt" and covers mainly steep hillsides not suitable for urban development. It also serves the purpose of protecting the existing ridgeline which provides physical barriers separating the oil depots in the south and west of Tsing Yi from residential developments in the north-east.
 
     About 1.05 hectares of land is zoned "Site of Special Scientific Interest" ("SSSI") which covers the South Tsing Yi SSSI and is a steep slope of woodland harbouring a population of Hong Kong croton.
 
     The rest of the Area (about 102.21 hectares) is for major roads, etc.

     The approved Tsing Yi OZP No. S/TY/30 is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Tsuen Wan and West Kowloon District Planning Office, and the Kwai Tsing District Office.

     Copies of the approved plan are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Town Planning Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, March 13, 2020 is 107.1 (up 0.5 against yesterday's index).

      To assist travel agents to tackle the financial difficulties arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has established the Travel Agents Subsidy Scheme under the Anti-epidemic Fund. Each eligible travel agent may receive a one-off subsidy of $80,000. As of now, the Travel Agents Registry (TAR) has received about 1 700 registrations, accounting for about 98 per cent of all licensed travel agents in Hong Kong. Among these registrations, about 80 per cent, i.e. some 1 350 travel agents, have received the payment.

      "The scheme has been open for registration since the approval of the Anti-epidemic Fund by the Legislative Council Finance Committee on February 21 evening. With a simple and convenient registration procedure, the disbursement of subsidies had begun within two weeks, providing timely assistance to tide the tourism trade over during the difficult time," a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said.

      The spokesman appealed to those few remaining travel agents who have not yet registered to submit their registration to the TAR before the deadline today (March 13). The registration form and guideline can be downloaded from the website of the TAR (www.tar.gov.hk) or obtained from its office (Address: Room 4901, 49/F, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong).

      The Government has also established the Licensed Guesthouses Subsidy Scheme under the Anti-epidemic Fund. Each eligible guesthouse with one to five licensed guestrooms may receive a one-off subsidy of $50,000 and those with six or more licensed guestrooms may receive a one-off subsidy of $80,000. Since the commencement of registration on February 21, more than 1 770 registrations have been received as at noon today. The registered licensed guesthouses account for 98 per cent of the total. At present, about 260 guesthouses have received the subsidy.

      Registration for the Licensed Guesthouses Subsidy Scheme will end on March 20. The registration form and guideline can be downloaded from the website of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the Home Affairs Department (www.hadla.gov.hk) or obtained from the OLA's office (Address: 10th Floor, 14 Taikoo Wan Road, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong).

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, today (March 13) visited Hong Kong International Airport to observe the implementation of the health declaration measure that has been extended to all inbound travellers arriving Hong Kong.
 
     Accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam; the Chief Port Health Officer of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Leung Yiu-hong; and the Executive Director, Airport Operations, of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mrs Vivian Cheung, Mr Cheung visited the arrival hall for an update on the implementation of the requirement that all inbound travellers arriving at the airport should complete and submit a health declaration form. He was pleased to note that the arrangement has been operating smoothly since it was put into effect on March 8.
 
     He then received a briefing and demonstration from staff of the Health Informatics and Technology Office of the Department of Health on the operation of the "Electronic Health Declaration Form" system. It was introduced by the Department of Health to offer all inbound travellers arriving at the airport an option to complete and submit health declaration forms via smartphones or other mobile devices and at the same time help reduce paper use.
 
     Mr Cheung also met with front-line staff to gain a better understanding on the management of a symptomatic inbound traveller. He expressed his sincere gratitude to them for their professionalism and dedication to safeguard the well-being of Hong Kong in the fight against the epidemic.
 
     Mr Cheung pointed out that given the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government already strengthened health quarantine requirement for inbound travellers from other places, and would closely monitor the development and respond swiftly by adjusting the anti-epidemic measures. He stressed that the Government would continue to accord the highest priority to the prevention and control of the epidemic and appealed to the public to join hands with the Government in fighting the epidemic.

     The Government announced today (March 13) that the Chief Executive has re-appointed Professor Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon, Ms Lau Ka-shi and Ms Elaine Lo Yuen-man as members of the Independent Commission on Remuneration for Members of the Executive Council and the Legislature, and Officials under the Political Appointment System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for a period of one year with effect from April 1, 2020.

     The Independent Commission advises the Government on matters relating to the systems of remuneration for Members of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council, as well as those for officials under the Political Appointment System. The Chairman of the Independent Commission is Mr Carlson Tong and other members are Mr Philip Tsai Wing-chung and Ms Winnie Wong Tsz-shun.