Revitalisation of ageing public housing estates through a comprehensive building rehabilitation programme is being explored to improve tenants' living environment, Deputy Director of Housing Vincent Tong says.

Under the new concept, periodic monitoring of the estates will be undertaken to identify areas of deficiency that may have health, environmental or structural implications, and a tailor-made rehabilitation plan will be drawn up to address the concerns.

The plan covers practically all aspects, from environmental, hygiene and building structure to pedestrian access and flat and communal facilities.

A detailed feasibility study will be conducted later in the hope of coming up with fresh proposals to improve the overall condition of ageing public housing estates.

Outlining the many advantages of building rehabilitation, Mr Tong said the new concept can cater for individual requirements of a particular estate and its tenants in devising a building rehabilitation plan.

Lifespan of ageing public housing extends

"The lifespan of ageing public housing estates can be extended by 25 years or more through building rehabilitation. Apart from lowering the routine maintenance expenses, building rehabilitation can also reduce the large quantities of construction waste and nuisance generated by redevelopment. This is more cost-effective and is making the best use of existing resources," Mr Tong said.

Some ideas for the plan are:

* buildings without a refuse treatment system will be installed with collection rooms and additional collection points;

* lighting and ventilation will be improved through microclimate study to bring about design modifications to improve environmental conditions;

* overall enhancement works will be carried out once defects in building structure or concrete conditions are detected; and,

* facilities inside individual flats will be retrofitted with drainage pipes being relocated to the external walls of buildings and installation of pre-fabricated bathrooms, concrete floors and brand new aluminium windows.

Mr Tong said new plans will be drawn up for new or modified community facilities and landscaped features to meet tenants' aspirations.