URA to begin Ma Tau Wai Road-Chun Tin Street lot acquisition

Owners of the 3,377 square metres project area will be offered $9,785 per sq.ft. while its 143 tenants and owners have so far been given assistance.

The Urban Renewal Authority will send letters to owners of the Ma Tau Wai Road-Chun Tin Street project by the end of this month. Eligible owner-occupiers of domestic properties affected by the project will be offered $9,785 per square foot of saleable floor area.

Covering an area of 3,377 square metres, the project area is bounded by Ma Tau Wai Road, Hok Yuen Street and Chun Tin Street. The buildings within the project area were built between 1955 and 1957.

The authority will provide smaller flats to the mass-housing market. More than 400 units with an average flat size of less than 50 square metres will be built in the new development. A deficit of $1 billion, exclusive of overhead expenditure, will be incurred upon redevelopment.

Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority Barry Cheung said the Home Purchase Allowance rate for the project was endorsed by the authority's Land, Rehousing & Compensation Committee after careful deliberation. It is the highest rate offered by the authority for domestic owner-occupied properties in its projects in Kowloon.

While awaiting approval to go ahead with the project, 143 tenants and owners have so far been given assistance and moved out under these special measures. The statutory planning procedures for the project are unexpectedly long as 54 objections and submissions have been received since the project's announcement.

Upon completion of the property acquisition, the authority will make ex-gratia payments to, or rehousing arrangements for, eligible tenants. The total acquisition and rehousing cost for the project is estimated to be $1.52 billion.

The authority will hold briefings for the affected owners, residents and shop operators to explain the acquisition, and compensation and rehousing arrangements.