HK’s Former Chief Executive To Open Office In Admiralty
HONG KONG – Government officials recently announced that the city’s former Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will set up an office at Pacific Place, a mixed-use commercial property comprising a mall and office space in Admiralty, reported The South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Wednesday evening (13 July, SGT)
Aside from that, the authorities intend to spend more than HK$8.7 million to spruce up Lam’s new office.
“[The office] will be established to provide support to the fourth former chief executive to perform promotional and protocol-related activities,” they said in a statement, adding that the new office would start operating tentatively by the end of this month after fit-out works have been finished.
According to Hong Kong’s Administration Wing, Lam’s new office measures 2,874 sq ft. The fitting-out works cost about HK$8.7 million, while a 3-year office lease at Pacific Place will cost HK$377,000 per month. The office rent will amount to over HK$4.5 million per annum.
Including the office renovations, it will cost taxpayers a minimum of HK$22.3 million over the next three years. The expenditure will be shouldered by the government’s budget and doesn’t need funding approval from Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.
Lawmaker and surveyor Tony Tse Wai-chuen explained that Lam’s new office is pricey, as office fit-out works in the city cost over HK$3,000 psf, while its monthly office rent is at HK$130 psf.
“The office rent is not cheap. The renovation fee is also costly as office space usually costs between HK$1,000 psf and HK$1,500 psf to renovate. It should be cheaper for Grade A offices as facilities such as lights and air-conditioning are already in place,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lam’s predecessor Leung Chun-ying shares an office with two other former chief executives, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Tung Chee-hwa, since he resigned in 2017. Situated along Kennedy Road in Mid-Levels, it’s located at a Grade I historic building built in the early 1900s.
