*****************************************************
The Government today (June 18) announced the implementation arrangements for the two measures enshrined in the 2012-13 Budget to facilitate the development of data centres. The two measures are:
(1) the Government will exempt the waiver fee for changing parts of eligible industrial buildings into data centre use; and
(2) for development of high-tier data centres involving lease modification on existing industrial lots, the Government will assess the premium for the lease modification on the basis of high-tier data centre use for the part of the proposed development for data centre use.
The Lands Department today issued the Practice Note which sets out the application criteria and necessary supporting documents for the application.
The two measures will be open for application from June 25, 2012, to March 31, 2016. Applications should be submitted to the Lands Department and are subject to payment of a relevant administrative fee.
The Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Daniel Lai, said at a press briefing, "We hope the two measures can encourage optimisation of existing eligible industrial buildings or industrial lots for development of data centres to meet the market demand.
"The Government will process the applications expeditiously. The Data Centre Facilitation Unit under the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer will provide technical advice to the Lands Department on issues related to data centres. I encourage the trade to take advantage of the measures early," he said.
Regarding the first measure, if the application to change parts of industrial buildings to data centre use is approved, the Government would exempt the waiver fee now chargeable according to standard rates for using existing industrial buildings for "Information Technology and Telecommunications" industries (including data centres). This measure applies to data centres of all tiers, provided that the industrial building concerned is located in a zone designated for "Industrial", "Other Specified Uses annotated 'Business'" or "Commercial" use and aged 15 years or above.
As for the second measure, for development of high-tier data centres wholly or in conjunction with other uses, and irrespective of zoning, involving lease modification (including land exchange) on existing industrial lots, the Government would assess the premium for the lease modification on the basis of high-tier data centre use for the part of the proposed development for data centre use. The data centre part of the proposed development has to reach at least 40 per cent of the maximum development intensity allowed for the site or a plot ratio of 2.5, whichever is higher.
The Practice Note is available at the Lands Department website (www.landsd.gov.hk/en/legco/lpn.htm) and the thematic portal of the Data Centre Facilitation Unit (www.datacentre.gov.hk).
The Government will continue to identify suitable sites for the development of data centres. Apart from the above two measures, other initiatives include setting aside two hectares of land in Tseung Kwan O for development of high-tier data centres, of which the first site of about 1 hectare will be available for open bidding in 2013.
Ends/Monday, June 18, 2012
Issued at HKT 13:01
NNNN
