The Buildings Department approved 17 building plans in October - six on Hong Kong Island, one in Kowloon and 10 in the New Territories.

These plans include six apartment and apartment/commercial developments, four commercial developments, and seven community-services developments.

In the same month, consent was given for work to start on nine building projects that, when completed, will provide 77 units with 13,615 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use, and 186,840 square metres of gross floor area for non-domestic use.

The department has received notification of commencement of work for eight building projects.

The department also issued 15 occupation permits - four on Hong Kong Island, one in Kowloon and 10 in the New Territories.

These buildings have 906 units with 98,109 square metres for domestic use, and 23,928 square metres for non-domestic use.

Buildings declared cost: $1.2b

The declared cost of new buildings completed in October totalled about $1.2 billion.

The department also issued eight demolition consents for eight buildings. It received 2,283 complaints against unauthorised building works in the month, and issued 1,814 removal orders on unauthorised works.