Central Government Offices
Encyclopedia
Central, Hong Kong
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, it occupies the lower level of Government Hill
Government Hill
The Government Hill is a hill in Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, bounded by upper section of Upper Albert Road on the south, Queen's Road Central north, Garden Road east, and Glenealy west of Hong Kong Island....
.
History
Completed in 1957 by the Government of Hong KongGovernment of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...
, it replaced a two-storey colonial complex from the 1930s, old Secretariat Building
Old Central Government Offices
The old Central Government Office was home to many of Hong Kong Government's departments from 1847 to 1954. Built in 1847 as the Secretariat Building, it was also home to the territory's Legislative Council from the 1930s to 1954....
built 1847 and demolished in 1954).
Like City Hall, Hong Kong
City Hall, Hong Kong
The Hong Kong City Hall is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Since Hong Kong does not designate itself or any part of itself as a city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the City Hall does not hold the offices of a city government, unlike most...
, the offices were built in the International
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
style.
Legislative Council
Until 1985, the Legislative Council of Hong KongLegislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
met here and then moved to the old Supreme Court Building.
Government Offices
The building is actually a complex of three wings with a total of 76000 square feet (7,060.6 m²) of offices:- Main Wing (18 Lower Albert Road) - 8 floors and Annex
- East Wing (20 Lower Albert Road)
- West Wing (11 Ice House Street) - 7-13 floors
The most familiar wing is the Main Wing, housing offices of the Chief Executive
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
and site of most major protest against the Hong Kong Government (another site is the LegCo
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
). In order to keep protesters who have not applied from entering the complex, a series of fences was erected in 1998 after the transfer of sovereignty
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1997.
Plans are under way to replace the current buildings with a new 110000 square feet (10,219.3 m²) office at the Tamar basin
Tamar site
Tamar site , 4.2-hectare large, the former location of the naval basin attached to the headquarters of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong, is currently the site of the Central Government Offices of the Hong Kong SAR Government at the harbourfront of Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.To the...
and scheduled to be completed by 2010. Apart from government offices, the Tamar site will also house the Legislative Council and provide not less than 22,000 square metres of open space for public enjoyment. The cost for developing the entire Tamar site is estimated at HKD5.2 billion.
Plans after 2011 will likely see the Justice Department re-locate to the Main and East Wings, while the West Wing will be demolished.
List of tenants of the three complexes:
- West Wing
- Civil Service Bureau
- Financial Secretary Bureau
- Economic Development Bureau
- Financial Services and Treasury Bureau
- Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau
- Main Wing
- Constitutional Affairs Bureau
- Security Bureau
- Chief Executive
- East Wing
- Security Bureau
See also
- Government Secretariat
- Central Government Complex, TamarCentral Government Complex, TamarCentral Government Complex, Tamar will be the new location for the offices of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.The new government building will neither use Communist Chinese or European government building designs, but a rather a mix of postmodern architecture and...
- Legislative Council BuildingLegislative Council BuildingThe Legislative Council Building of Hong Kong, also called the Former Supreme Court Building , was the home of the former Supreme Court until 1985, when it was renamed and became home to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Members of the Council and the President have offices in this building...