The Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, today (February 25) announced the Government's 2021-22 Land Sale Programme.
      
     "The 2021-22 Land Sale Programme comprises 15 residential sites capable of providing about 6 000 flats, and three commercial sites which can provide about 478 600 square metres of gross floor area," Mr Wong said. 
      
     Among the 15 residential sites included in the 2021-22 Land Sale Programme, seven sites are rolled over from the 2020-21 Land Sale Programme, capable of providing about 3 450 flats, while the remaining eight sites have a capacity to provide about 2 550 flats.
      
     Apart from the 15 sites for sale, railway property development projects and projects of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) will also contribute to the private housing land supply in 2021-22. The property development projects of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) at Tung Chung Traction Substation, Pak Shing Kok Ventilation Building and Tung Chung East Station Package 1 are estimated to provide about 4 050 flats. On the other hand, the URA plans to take forward six projects, providing about 3 170 flats.
      
     "Taking also into consideration the forecasted land supply from the projects of the MTRCL and the URA, as well as private development/redevelopment projects, the total potential private housing land supply in 2021-22 is estimated to have a capacity to produce about 16 500 flats," Mr Wong said.
      
     Pursuant to the announcement by the Government last December, the housing supply target for the coming 10 years remains at 430 000 units, and the public/private housing split remains at 70:30. Correspondingly, the 2021-22 target for the private housing land supply from various sources is 12 900 flats.
      
     Mr Wong noted that the actual supply of private housing land for 2021-22 will depend on various factors, including market conditions, the readiness for sale of government sites upon timely completion of relevant procedures/proceedings, the implementation progress of railway property developments and the URA's projects, and the progress of developers' private development/redevelopment projects including their initiative to conclude lease modifications/land exchange.

     Reviewing the private housing land supply in 2020-21, a total of nine residential sites would have been sold or put up for sale by the end of the financial year.  These sites have a total capacity to produce about 4 400 flats. The aggregate private housing land supply in 2020-21 from different sources, including the sale of government sites, railway property development projects and private development/redevelopment projects is estimated to have a capacity to produce about 13 020 flats so far.
      
     "Three commercial sites are also included in the 2021-22 Land Sale Programme, capable of providing about 478 600 sq m of gross floor area. The Government will continue to provide a stable commercial land supply in order to sustain Hong Kong's economic development and competitiveness, regardless of any short-term market fluctuations," Mr Wong said.
      
     For the first quarter of 2021-22, i.e. April to June 2021, the Government will put up for tender two residential sites in Kwu Tung and Fanling, which are capable of providing a total of about 980 flats.
      
     In the same quarter, development projects of the URA have a capacity to provide about 380 flats.
      
     Taking also into consideration the forecasted land supply from private development/redevelopment projects, private housing land supply in the first quarter of 2021-22 is estimated to have a capacity to produce about 1 530 flats.
      
     Mr Wong said that the Government is firmly committed to maintaining a steady and sustained land supply through a multi-pronged approach to meet the housing and socio-economic development needs of the community.
      
     "The Government will follow the established practice to announce in advance the quarterly land sale programme in order to provide transparency and certainty to the market. We may put up additional sites for sale in the quarters depending on the situation, so as to flexibly respond to changing market conditions," he added.
      
     The 2021-22 Land Sale Programme can be found on the Lands Department's website (www.landsd.gov.hk).

     O · PARK1, the first organic resources recovery centre in Hong Kong, converts food waste into electricity and provides a green education space that combines environmental protection, multiple technology features and learning elements. An Environmental Protection Department (EPD) spokesman said today (February 25) that the O · PARK1 Visitor Centre will officially open to the public on March 1, with advance online bookings for guided tours starting from today.

     The spokesman said, "O · PARK1 has been collecting food waste since July 2018. It converts food waste into biogas for power generation through the application of advanced biotechnology, with a daily food waste treatment capacity of about 200 tonnes. Apart from handling food waste, O · PARK1 is also responsible for promoting a 'food wise and waste less' culture to reduce food waste at source."

     The O · PARK1 Visitor Centre uses innovative computer animations to give visitors a general introduction of the centre's operation, design and craftsmanship. This is the first time that the EPD has integrated the use of 360-degree projection and 3D mapping technology in an educational facility. In the O · CLUB dome theatre of the Visitor Centre, innovative computer animations are used to illustrate the advanced food waste treatment processes and the associated benefits in greenhouse gas reduction towards combating climate change. This also helps promote the "food wise and waste less" culture. 

     Visitors can also experience an exciting food-waste-to-energy adventure, together with four food-waste characters, through a lively cartoon feature at the O · CLUB dome theatre. The journey starts when the food waste characters are disposed of. They are transported to O · PARK1 and end up in the anaerobic digestion tank before escaping from the biogas holder. It is expected that this unforgettable adventure will enable visitors to better understand the food-waste-to-energy processes, helping to instill a behavioural change in food waste reduction at source.

     Outside the dome theatre, visitors will travel along an outdoor visitor path with three attractions. They can take photos with the iconic "Big Waster" at O · WELL, then stroll along the O · LINK path for a closer look at the actual-size equipment and systems, while tour guides will explain in detail the concept of converting food waste to energy and how the renewable energy can contribute towards the goal of carbon neutrality. Finally, visitors will arrive at the O · FARM sky garden, located on the rooftop of the composting and maturation building, to appreciate the horticulture.
 
     Shrubs in O · FARM and all the gardening within the facilities are nurtured by in-house produced compost products. Compost is the by-product generated from recycling food waste at O · PARK1. All visitors will receive a bag of compost as a souvenir to share the benefits from food waste recycling.

     The Visitor Centre offers four guided tours daily except Tuesdays, with free transportation between Sunny Bay MTR Station and O · PARK1. Members of the public can make advance bookings for Cantonese, Putonghua and English guided tours on the O · PARK1 website (www.opark.gov.hk/en/tour.php).

              

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients confirmed as being carriers of Multi-drug Resistant Acinetobacter (MDRA) in a medical ward, the spokesperson for Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital gave the following update today (February 25):
 
     In accordance with the prevailing guidelines, the hospital commenced contact tracing and confirmed one 79-year-old male patient as being a carrier of MDRA today. The patient is currently under isolation treatment with stable condition. Following the activation of the Emergency Response Level in public hospitals, the visiting arrangement for the ward has been suspended.
 
     The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up. The hospital will continue to closely monitor the situation in the ward concerned and adopt enhanced infection control measures.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (February 25) said that as six confirmed cases and five preliminary positive cases of COVID-19 recently occurred at Mr. Ming's Chinese Dining located at Shop 113A, 1/F, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, the CHP is proactively following up to investigate whether the infections of the cases are related, so as to stop the potential risk of a further spread of the virus.   

     The CHP spokesman said that amongst the 11 confirmed cases and preliminary positive cases, eight of them involve those who had lunch at Mr. Ming's Chinese Dining on February 18 and 19, and the remaining three cases involve staff of that restaurant. 

     According to the CHP's initial epidemiological investigation, amongst those patients who had lunch at Mr. Ming's Chinese Dining, seven of them visited the restaurant on February 19. As some of them do not know each other, it is believed that the restaurant may have been the place where transmissions occurred. In order to stop the potential risk of further spread of the virus, the CHP appeals to those who visited Mr. Ming's Chinese Dining from noon to 3pm on February 19 to call the CHP's hotlines at 2125 1111 or 2125 1122 as soon as possible to facilitate the CHP's epidemiological investigations and contact tracing. 

     The Government yesterday (February 24) has exercised power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to require any person who had been present at Mr. Ming's Chinese Dining at any time during the period from February 18 to February 24, 2021 (including but not limited to visitors and workers), have to undergo testing by February 26, 2021. If persons subject to compulsory testing previously underwent testing on February 24, 2021, they would be taken to have complied with the requirements set out in the compulsory testing notice.

     The spokesman urged relevant individuals to undergo testing promptly for early identification of infected persons.

     The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (February 25) announced that its office on the 13th floor of the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, after thorough cleaning and disinfection, will reopen tomorrow (February 26). The enquiry counter and the Electoral Information Centre located on the same floor, as well as the REO hotline, will also resume normal service tomorrow.