Renewal plan: The Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project will be the largest redevelopment ever undertaken by the Urban Renewal Authority.

Public feedback will be considered carefully to ensure Kwun Tong Town Centre retains its vibrancy and becomes the activity hub of east Kowloon after redevelopment, Urban Renewal Authority Managing Director Billy Lam says.

The body met with Kwun Tong District Advisory Committee members today to discuss the multi-billion-dollar project.

The committee agreed that the project should help owner-occupiers improve living conditions by enabling them to find new homes under the Home Purchase Allowance policy.

Transport interchange

It should provide Kwun Tong with a modern town centre offering not only commercial and residential developments but also comprehensive public facilities and amenities, a public transport interchange serving Kwun Tong and the rest of East Kowloon.

The redevelopment should ensure the vitality of the area be maintained and enhanced and that the project is financially viable and sustainable.

Mr Lam said the project, occupying a site area of about 5.3 hectares, will be the largest redevelopment project ever undertaken by the authority.

"Because of the immense impact of the project, the authority will pay special attention to planning and urban design, and will listen carefully the public's views and suggestions, particularly on strategic positioning and implementation method."

Issues to be resolved

There are a number of fundamental planning issues that have to be resolved during the public consultation process. They are:

* to replace the now inconveniently dispersed and obsolete transport facilities with an integrated and efficient infrastructure;

* to mitigate adverse impact of the air and noise pollution generated by the old industrial buildings to the town centre;

* to introduce a buffer zone between the overhead mass transit railway and the town centre to minimise the level of noise pollution;

* to provide more public open space and greenery while preserving the old trees in the Yue Man Square rest garden; and,

* reprovisioning and enhancement of the government, institutional and community facilities currently available.

Aspiration survey

The authority has commissioned a University of Hong Kong research team to conduct a community aspiration survey in Kwun Tong.

Thirteen-hundred locals will be randomly selected for interviews by the end of next month.