Findings of “I” Area Page 3-1

3 Findings of “I” Area

Land Area, Numbers of IBs and GFA

3.1 26 out of the 75 industrial areas covered in 2014 Area Assessments are “I” areas

(Plans 1 and 2). They include six areas on Hong Kong Island, two areas in

Kowloon, four areas in Kwai Tsing/Tsuen Wan, seven areas in the Northeast

New Territories (NENT), and seven areas in the Northwest New Territories

(NWNT). In total, these 26 areas cover about 256.1 ha (about 50.3%) of the

industrial land with 476 (about 32.9%) existing IBs providing a total GFA of

about 9.93 million m2 (about 35.7%), all representing a reduction as compared

with 2009 Area Assessments which covered about 297.2 ha of land, 503 IBs and

about 10.55 million m2 of total GFA (Appendix 3.1).

3.2 In terms of land area by region, NENT remains to have the largest share (about

102.3 ha or 39.9%), followed by NWNT (about 66.8 ha or 26.1%) and Kwai

Tsing/Tsuen Wan (about 64.1 ha or 25.0%) (Figure 3-1 and Appendix 3.1).

By “I” area, On Lok Tsuen (about 32.6 ha) has the largest area, followed by Fo

Tan (about 30.5 ha), Southwest Kwai Chung (about 29.3 ha) and Tuen Mun

Areas 9 and 12 (about 26.2 ha).

3.3 In terms of number of IBs by region, NENT is also the largest provider (172

buildings or 36.1%), followed by Kwai Tsing/Tsuen Wan (160 buildings or

33.6%) and NWNT (110 buildings or 23.1%) (Figure 3-1 and Appendix 3.1).

By “I” area, On Lok Tsuen has the largest number of buildings (98 buildings),

followed by Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12 (63 buildings), Southwest Kwai Chung

(51 buildings), Fo Tan (45 buildings), Tsuen Wan East (40 buildings) and Chai

Wan Kok (40 buildings).

3.4 In terms of GFA by region, Kwai Tsing/Tsuen Wan is the largest provider (about

4.37 million m2 or 44.0%), followed by NENT (about 2.59 million m

2 or 26.1%)

and NWNT (about 1.93 million m2 or 19.5%) (Figure 3-1 and Appendix 3.1).

By “I” area, Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12 has the largest amount of GFA (about

1.55 million m2), followed by Southwest Kwai Chung (about 1.52 million m

2),

Fo Tan (about 1.48 million m2), Tsuen Wan East (about 1.15 million m

2), Chai

Wan Kok (about 0.90 million m2) and Central Kwai Chung (about 0.81 million

m2).

3.5 Same as the 2009 Area Assessments, four “I” areas do not contain any IB and

therefore have not been subject to detailed survey. They include Po Chong

Wan (mainly for shipyards and workshops), Ap Lei Chau Praya Road (mainly

for shipyards and sawmills), Lai Chi Kok (wholly for bus depots and a car park)

and Sha Tin Area 65 (mainly for Construction Industry Council Training

Academy Shatin Training Ground).

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-2

10.4%

6.9%

6.5%

44.0%

33.6%

25.0%

26.1%

36.1%

39.9%

19.5%

23.1%

26.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

GFA in 2014

(9.93 M m2)

No. of IBs

(476)

Land Area

(256.1 ha)

HK Island Kowloon Kwai Tsing/Tsuen Wan NENT NWNT

Figure 3-1 Distribution of “I” Area in terms of Land Area, No. of IBs

and GFA

Building Ownership, Age and Condition

3.6 476 out of 1,448 IBs covered in 2014 Area Assessments are in “I” area. In

terms of ownership, about 51.9% or 247 buildings are under multiple ownership,

about 46.4% or 221 buildings are under single ownership, and the remaining

1.7% or eight buildings are on government land10

(Figure 3-2). The figures

are similar to those of the 2009 Area Assessments, which had about 50.9% and

47.1% of the buildings under multiple and single ownership respectively and

about 2.0% of the buildings on government land. Spatially, more buildings in

the Metro area are under multiple ownership while more buildings in the New

Territories are under single ownership.

3.7 On building age, about 48.9% or 233 buildings are 30 years or above which is

much higher than 33.0% in the 2009 Area Assessments (Figure 3-2). About

45.0% or 214 buildings are between 15 and 29 years which are much lower than

57.7% in the 2009 Area Assessments. About 4.0% or 19 buildings are below

15 years old with 10 buildings of five years old or less (i.e. completed after the

2009 Area Assessments). Five of them are in On Lok Tsuen, two in Chai Wan

Kok, and one each in Tsuen Wan East, San Hei Tsuen/Tong Yan San Tsuen and

Ping Shan.

3.8 For the building condition, about 77.1% or 367 buildings are in fair condition

which is lower than 81.1% in 2009 Area Assessments (Figure 3-2). About

10

Six of the buildings are in Tuen Mun Area 40 and one in Southwest Kwai Chung under short-term tenancy,

and one in Central Kwai Chung with a planned road scheme.

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-3

47.1%

46.4%

50.9%

51.9%

2.0%

1.7%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2009 (503 IBs)

2014 (476 IBs)

Ownership

Single Multiple Government Land

8.3%

4.0%

57.7%

45.0%

33.0%

48.9%

1.1%

2.0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2009 (503 IBs)

2014 (476 IBs)

Age

<15 yrs 15-29 yrs >=30yrs No Information

3.8%

7.8%

81.1%

77.1%

15.1%

15.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2009 (503 IBs)

2014 (476 IBs)

Condition

Good Fair Poor

15.1% or 72 buildings are in poor condition which is the same as 2009 Area

Assessment. 34 out of the 72 buildings are in On Lok Tsuen. The remaining

7.8% or 37 buildings are in good condition which is higher than 3.8% in 2009

Area Assessments. 19 out of the 37 buildings are in Kwai Tsing/Tsuen Wan.

Figure 3-2 Ownership, Age and Condition of IBs in “I” Area

Vacancy and Take-up

3.9 The overall vacancy of the 476 IBs in “I” area based on GFA is about 3.5% or

0.34 million m2 GFA, which is much lower than the 6.5% or 0.69 million m

2

identified in the 2009 Area Assessments (Appendices 3.1 and 3.2).

3.10 The vacancy rates of individual “I” areas vary. Eight areas are above the

overall rate of 3.5%, including Tuen Mun Area 16 (about 37.4%), Chai Wan

Kok (about 9.0%), Siu Lek Yuen (about 7.2%), On Lok Tsuen (about 5.0%),

Central Kwai Chung (about 4.6%), Ping Shan (about 4.5%), Tsuen Wan East

(about 4.3%) and Tuen Mun Area 17 (about 3.9%) (Figure 3-3 and Appendices

3.1 and 3.3). The exceptionally high vacancy rate of Tuen Mun Area 16 is

because one out of three IBs in the area is wholly vacant, involving about 36.3%

of the total GFA. For Tuen Mun Area 16, Chai Wan Kok, On Lok Tsuen,

Central Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan East, the high vacancy is also partly due to

existence of wholly vacant IB(s) in the areas.

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-4

3.11 Same as the 2009 Area Assessments, no vacancy is recorded in five areas,

including Kennedy Town, West Kowloon, Fanling Area 48, Tuen Mun Wu Shan

Road and Tuen Mun Area 40, which have most of the IBs under single

ownership. Other than these five areas, San Hei Tsuen/Tong Yan San Tsuen

has the lowest vacancy rate of about 0.1%, followed by Tai Wai (about 0.2%),

Tin Wan Praya Road (about 0.3%) and Chai Wan (about 0.8%).

Figure 3-3 Vacancy Rates of Individual “I” Area Based on GFA

3.12 Derived from the R&VD’s records and based on the BD’s Monthly Digests, the

overall take-up of the IBs in all “I” areas for 2013 is about 219,561m2, meaning

a net increase in occupied GFA in 2013 as compared to 2012. The positive

take-up mainly comes from Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12 (about 61,879m2), Ap Lei

Chau West (about 59,418m2), Tsuen Wan East (about 48,589m

2), On Lok Tsuen

(about 33,235m2) and Fo Tan (about 27,397m

2) (Appendices 3.1 and 3.2).

Usage

3.13 Same as the 2009 Area Assessments, Warehouse/Storage is the largest user in

the IBs in “I” area, followed by Office and Manufacturing/Workshop (Figure

3-4 and Appendix 3.3).

0.0% 0.8% 0.3% 2.4%

0.0% 1.6%

4.6% 4.3%

9.0%

0.2% 1.5%

7.2%

5.0%

0.0%

2.4% 3.0%

37.4%

0.0% 0.0%

3.9%

0.1%

4.5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

* areas with wholly vacant building(s)

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-5

Figure 3-4 Distribution of Uses in “I” Area Based on GFA

3.14 Being the largest user in the “I” area, Warehouse/Storage occupies about 54.1%

or 5.37 million m2 of the existing GFA (Figure 3-4). The figures are slightly

lower than the 55.5% and 5.85 million m2 identified in the 2009 Area

Assessments (Appendix 3.3). The use is the predominant use in 21 out of the

22 areas with IBs (except West Kowloon). 15 of the areas have more than 50%

of their GFA for Warehouse/Storage use (Figure 3-5). Same as the 2009

Assessments, the Warehouse/Storage GFA is mainly in Tuen Mun Areas 9 and

12, Southwest Kwai Chung, Tsuen Wan East and Fo Tan (Figure 3-6). These

four areas take up about 58.6% (3.15 million m2) of all Warehouse/Storage GFA

in the “I” area.

Figure 3-5 Warehouse/Storage GFA in “I” Area (in %)

Manufacturing/

Workshop

8.4%

Warehouse/Storage

54.1%

Office

16.5%

Other Uses

3.8%

Vacant

3.5%

Under Renovation

1.0%

Non-response

12.7%

100.0%

51.9%

66.8%

35.0%

0.0%

54.0% 52.9%

58.9%

44.8%

57.2%

43.4%

35.3%

52.9%

100.0%

82.8%

65.0%

18.2%

73.7%

100.0%

64.7%

78.2%

48.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-6

Figure 3-6 Warehouse/Storage GFA in “I” Area (in m2)

3.15 Office is the second largest user and occupies about 16.5% or 1.64 million m2 of

the existing GFA in the “I” area (Figure 3-4). The figures are comparable with

the 16.6% and 1.75 million m2 identified in the 2009 Area Assessments

(Appendix 3.3). Eight areas have more than 16.5% of their GFA for Office

use (including all four areas in Kwai Tsing/Tsuen Wan) (Figure 3-7). The

Office GFA is concentrated in five areas, including Fo Tan, Southwest Kwai

Chung, Central Kwai Chung, Chai Wan Kok and Tsuen Wan East (Figure 3-8).

These five areas take up about 74.9% (1.23 million m2) of all Office GFA in the

“I” area.

Figure 3-7 Office GFA in “I” Area Based on GFA (in %)

0

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

0.0%

16.4%

8.7%

22.6%

100.0%

19.5%

28.3%

16.8%

22.8%

10.9%

20.8%

15.5% 12.3%

0.0% 3.5%

5.8%

12.9%

26.3%

0.0%

9.8%

0.8%

8.7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-7

Figure 3-8 Office GFA in “I” Area (in m2)

3.16 Manufacturing/Workshop takes up about 8.4% or 0.83 million m2 of the existing

GFA in the “I” area (Figure 3-4). The figures are lower than the 9.8% and

1.03 million m2 identified in the 2009 Area Assessments (Appendix 3.3). 10

areas have more than 8.4% of their GFA for Manufacturing/Workshop use

(Figure 3-9). The Manufacturing/Workshop GFA is mainly concentrated in

Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12, followed by Fo Tan and Southwest Kwai Chung

(Figure 3-10). These three areas take up about 41.7% (0.35 million m2) of all

Manufacturing/Workshop GFA in the “I” area.

Figure 3-9 Manufacturing/Workshop GFA in “I” Area (in %)

0.0%

12.4%

16.0%

19.9%

0.0%

5.4%

8.5%

5.3% 4.9% 5.9% 5.9%

14.8%

11.7%

0.0%

9.4%

11.4%

0.8% 0.0% 0.0%

4.5%

16.8%

23.4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0 0 0

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-8

Figure 3-10 Manufacturing/Workshop GFA in “I” Area (in m2)

3.17 For “Other Uses”, they occupy about 3.8% or 0.38 million m2 of the existing

GFA (Figure 3-4). The figures are higher than the 2.4% and 0.25 million m2

identified in the 2009 Area Assessments (Appendix 3.3). The percentages are

particularly high in three areas, including Ap Lei Chau West (about 15.7%

mainly for shop and services), Ping Shan (about 15.2% all for research and

development/testing centre) and Tuen Mun Area 16 (about 14.0% mainly for

domestic use) (Figure 3-11). In terms of GFA, the “Other Uses” are mainly

concentrated in Fo Tan, Southwest Kwai Chung and Ap Lei Chau West (Figure

3-12). These three areas take up about 51.2% (0.19 million m2) of all “Other

Uses” GFA in the “I” area.

0 0 0 0 0

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-9

Figure 3-11 “Other Uses” GFA in “I” Area (in %)

Figure 3-12 “Other Uses” GFA in “I” Area (in m2)

3.18 Regarding the types of “Other Uses”, about 28.8% or 0.11 million m2 of GFA is

for shop and services (mainly in Ap Lei Chau West, Fo Tan and Tuen Mun

Areas 9 and 12), followed by data centre (about 18.0% or 68,219m2 mainly in

Southwest Kwai Chung and Fo Tan), research and development/testing centre

(about 12.6% or 47,628m2 mainly in Fo Tan, Ping Shan and On Lok Tsuen), and

showroom (about 12.1% or 45,777m2 mainly in Fo Tan, Chai Wan Kok and

Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12) (Figure 3-13 and Appendix 3.3).

0 0 0 0 0 0

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

0.0%

2.1%

0.7%

15.7%

0.0%

4.4%

2.9% 2.0%

3.4%

8.7%

5.9%

7.4%

2.3%

0.0%

1.2%

2.2%

14.0%

0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.0%

15.2%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-10

Figure 3-13 Types of “Other Uses” in “I” Area Based on GFA (in %)

Extent of Subdivision

3.19 There are a total of 34,977 units in the 26 “I” areas. About 5.2% or 1,819 of

the units in 11 areas are found subdivided, involving about 5.5% or 0.55 million

m2 of the total GFA. Most of these units are divided into two to five

subdivided units and most of the IBs involved are under multiple ownership.

The extent of subdivision is relatively larger in On Lok Tsuen, Tuen Mun Areas

9 and 12 and Chai Wan Kok than the other eight areas (Figure 3-14). For

Sheung Shui, only about 0.3% of the units are subdivided but involving about

7.5% of the GFA in the area. This is mainly due to the subdivision of a large

unit of 11,994m2 GFA into two subdivided units, accounting for about 6.1% of

the total GFA in the area.

Figure 3-14 Units Subdivided and GFA Involved in Respective “I” Areas

Showroom

12.1%

Research and

Development/Testing

Centre

12.6%

Data Centre

18.0%

Studio

7.6%

Gallery

0.6%

Wholesale

Centre

3.2%

Shops and Services

28.8%

Eating Place

7.6%

Recreational Facilities

1.0%

Training Centre and

Educational Institution

3.4%

Religious

Institution

0.9%

Domestic

Use

2.4%

Others

1.9%

2.3 2.4

5.6

3.3

9.9

2.9 3

8.2

0.3

12.7

0.4

3.1 2.9

6.4

5.4

10.7

3.5

2.4

13.4

7.5

9.7

0.2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Chai Wan Southwest

Kwai

Chung

Central

Kwai

Chung

Tsuen Wan

East

Chai Wan

Kok

Tai Wai Fo Tan On Lok

Tsuen

Sheung

Shui

Tuen Mun

Areas 9

and 12

Tuen Mun

Area 17

% of Units Subdivided % of GFA Involved

Findings of “I” Area Page 3-11

Approvals for New Development and Redevelopment/Wholesale Conversion

in Last Five Years

3.20 In the last five years (from January 2009 to April 2014), 10 sites in seven “I”

areas have obtained one or more of the following two kinds of approvals for

new development or redevelopment (including wholesale conversion) of old IB

for non-industrial use (Appendix 3.4):

(a) planning approval granted by the Board under the Town Planning

Ordinance (nine sites involved); and

(b) approval for wholesale conversion of existing IB with special waiver

executed under Revitalisation Policy (three sites involved).

In terms of use, eight sites are for commercial uses (including office, hotel, shop

and services and eating place), while the remaining two sites are for an

educational institution and information technology/telecommunications

industries respectively. Spatially, two sites each are in Siu Lek Yuen, Sheung

Shui and Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12, and one site each is in Southwest Kwai

Chung, Central Kwai Chung, Fo Tan and On Lok Tsuen. Based on the survey

of 2014 Area Assessments, two sites have the proposed non-industrial

uses/developments completed, while works for two sites are under progress.

The approvals for the remaining six sites have not yet been taken forward.

3.21 During the same period, 22 sites in seven “I” areas have obtained planning

approvals for relaxation of development restrictions (three sites involved) and/or

building plan approvals (20 sites involved) for new development or

redevelopment for industrial use (Appendix 3.5). Spatially, seven of the sites

are in On Lok Tsuen, five sites in Tsuen Wan East, three sites each are in Central

Kwai Chung and San Hei Tsuen/Tong Yan San Tsuen, two sites in Ping Shan,

and one site each in Southwest Kwai Chung and Tuen Mun Areas 9 and 12.

Based on the survey of 2014 Area Assessments, six sites have the proposed

industrial developments completed, while works for five sites are under

progress. The approvals for the remaining 11 sites have not yet been taken

forward.

Assessments of Individual Areas

3.22 Detailed assessments of the 26 individual “I” areas are at Appendix 3.6.