Lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo, who chairs the Legislative Assembly’s 2nd Standing Committee, said yesterday that if condominium unit owners plan to redevelop more than one building through the amalgamation of various plots, at least one of them must hold a residential building, i.e., a combination of condominium buildings and other types of buildings on various plots would be allowed, but not if the plots have a single ownership or there is a villa on one of them.
Addressing a press briefing after yesterday’s closed-door meeting reviewing the government’s urban renewal bill with Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon and other government officials in attendance, Chan said he expected that there will be many changes to the text of the bill, adding that the government has not indicated when the process of changing the bill will be completed.
The bill proposes that the redevelopment of old buildings can only be carried out when a minimum percentage of the respective building’s condominium owners agree to it, ranging from 60 percent to 85 percent, depending on the age and condition of the building.
Chan added that in the case of the amalgamation of plots, the percentage of owners agreeing to the redevelopment should be calculated on a single building basis, not a percentage of all buildings that would be erected on the planned amalgamated plots, otherwise it would be “unfair” to owners who do not support the project.
The bill also proposes that if the redevelopment period exceeds the stipulated period approved by the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) due to reasonable causes, the respective plot of land will not be taken back by the government. Chan added that a redevelopment project must be completed within the official period set by the bureau, and that such “reasonable causes” could be, for instance, the sudden withdrawal of the contractor, which would cause the redevelopment project to be suspended.
Lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo (right), who chairs the legislature’s 2nd Standing Committee, talks to reporters after the committee’s closed-door meeting reviewing the government’s urban renewal bill yesterday, while the committee’s secretary, Lam Lon Wai, looks on. Photo: Ginnie Liang
