The Buildings Department approved 18 building plans in September - two on Hong Kong Island, eight in Kowloon and eight in the New Territories.

Of the approved plans, six were for apartment and apartment-commercial developments, five were for commercial developments, one was for factory and industrial developments and six were for community services developments.

The department also gave consent for work to start on 20 building projects that, when completed, will provide 61,369 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use, involving 1,017 units, and 59,258 square metres of gross floor area for non-domestic use.

The department also issued 28 occupation permits - seven on Hong Kong Island, nine in Kowloon and 12 in the New Territories.

Of the buildings certified for occupation, the gross floor area for domestic use was 350,099 square metres, involving 4,825 units, and 91,964 square metres for non-domestic use.

Cost of new buildings completed in Sept: $5.1b

The declared cost of the new buildings completed in September totalled about $5.092 billion.

Seven demolition consents involving seven building structures were issued.