August saw 16 building plans approved, with nine on Hong Kong Island, two in Kowloon and five in the New Territories, the Buildings Department says.

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

Consent was given for work to start on 19 building projects that, when completed, will provide 382,905 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use, involving 5,064 units, and 77,211 square metres of gross floor area for non-domestic use. The department has received notification of commencement of work for 12 building projects.

The department also issued 18 occupation permits - five on Hong Kong Island, five in Kowloon and eight in the New Territories.

Of the buildings certified for occupation, the gross floor areas for domestic use were 25,839 square metres, involving 511 units, and 53,506 square metres for non-domestic use.

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