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4. Government to demolish obstacles and facilitate vetting process

(i) Adding a time limit on the approval process: In order to speed up the
vetting process, the Lands Department should introduce a statutory
time limit for vetting development plans. Upon the expiration of the time
limit, the development plan will be automatically regarded as approved,
which is in line with the Buildings Department’s practice. This principle
should also be applied when the Lands Department seeks comments
from other departments, i.e. nil return is assumed by the end of the time
limit.
(ii) Clearly defining the requirements for the approval process for the
government and business sector to comply with: The Government should
discuss with the industry to set up simple and clear requirements for
major plans involved in the vetting process. The Government and the
industry should strictly follow these requirements.

(iii) Increasing transparency of calculation mechanism of land premium :
The Government should reinforce the communication with the business
sector to increase the transparency of the premium calculation, allowing
the various calculation parameters (e.g. expected future construction
costs, estimated marketing costs, etc.) to better reflect the latest
situation and trend of the market.

(iv) Streamlining the vetting procedure: The Government should make a
better separation between the Lands Department’s function of vetting
on plans and other administrative functions (such as managing
complaints at the district level) and build a focused and professional
vetting team to facilitate the vetting process. In the long run, the
Government may consider setting up a one-stop structure to tackle
applications for different development procedures. This clearly defines
the leading vetting department and facilitate the coordination between
departments, avoiding repeated vetting. As an example, the
Government set up the Energising Kowloon East Office in mid-2012,
which is led by the Development Bureau. The office provides one-stop
supports with a view to facilitating the area's transformation into
another premier CBD of Hong Kong.

V. Concluding Remark: Revelations

from the “Rose Garden Project”

The “Hong Kong Airport Core Programme”, more commonly known as
the “Rose Garden Project”, was proposed in the Policy Address of the then
Governor David Wilson in 1989. The public must have made some
momentous but difficult decisions during the planning and implementation
process. Eventually, in face of the prevailing social, economic and livelihood
issues, the community as a whole agreed that “Rose Garden Project” was
necessary for the long-term benefits of Hong Kong.
26 years ago, we decided to work together for a better future. 26
years later, to provide better social facilities and living environment for all
of Hong Kong, appropriate medical services and long-term care for the
elderly, and the much needed economic vitality for the development of
our young people, we are presented with another set of momentous
but difficult options today. What is your choice?

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