Shui Chuen O Estate () is the largest
public housing estate
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
in
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.
The ne ...
,
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
, Hong Kong.
The estate comprises 18 blocks offering 11,123 public rental flats. It also includes a commercial complex with 59 shops and an indoor market. The new estate sits on a hillside is linked to the lower-lying areas by footbridges and lift towers, providing easy access to Pok Hong Estate and
Sha Tin Wai station
Sha Tin Wai () is a station on the in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The name "Sha Tin Wai" comes from the village called Sha Tin Wai, which is located to the northeast of the station. It was provisionally called "Sha Kok Street" before the Ma On Shan l ...
.
History
The estate was built in four phases concurrently. The first phase opened for population intake in 2015.
The estate was affected by the
2015 lead in drinking water scandal.
Additionally, there have been construction quality concerns. In 2016, a tenant at Shing Chuen House discovered that the floor slab under his flat's toilet was filled with powdery gravel. The material could be dug up by hand, exposing the
rebar
Rebar (short for reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or reinforcement steel, is a steel bar used as a Tension (physics), tension device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid the concr ...
within the floor slab.
The estate was built by
China State Construction, which has also been embroiled in controversy over contaminated water at
Kai Ching Estate
Kai Ching Estate () is a public housing estate in a brownfield development area in Hong Kong of the disused Kai Tak Airport. It consists of six residential buildings completed in 2013. It houses around 5,200 flats for 13,300 residents and shar ...
.
Houses
Features
The Shui Chuen O Shopping Centre has 59 shops.
The Shui Chuen O Market is connected to the shopping centre.
In order to facilitate pedestrian movement around the steeply sloping site, the estate design includes six lift towers, nine footbridges, and ten sets of escalators. The longest footbridge is located at the main entrance of the estate at Shui Chuen Au Street. With a length of 70 metres, it is the longest footbridge in any Hong Kong public housing estate.
Demographics
As of 20 September 2016 (before all residents had moved in), the estate had a population of 14,083.
It is designed to accommodate a population of 28,800.
Politics
Shui Chuen O Estate falls within the purview of the
Sha Tin District Council
The Sha Tin District Council is the district council for the Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Sha Tin District Council currently consists of 42 members, of which the district is divided into 41 constituencies, ...
. In the
2015 election it fell entirely within the
Jat Min constituency, which was represented by Yau Man-chun.
For the
2019 District Council election, the estate fell within two constituencies. Most of the estate is now located in the newly created
Shui Chuen O constituency, which is represented by Lo Tak-ming. The remainder falls within the
Jat Chuen constituency, which is represented by Yau Man-chun.
For the Legislative Council elections, Shui Chuen O falls within the
New Territories East constituency.
Transport
There is a bus terminus at the estate. It is served by two all-day
Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International.
...
routes, several peak hour-only routes, and green minibuses.
It is also within walking distance of
Sha Tin Wai station
Sha Tin Wai () is a station on the in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The name "Sha Tin Wai" comes from the village called Sha Tin Wai, which is located to the northeast of the station. It was provisionally called "Sha Kok Street" before the Ma On Shan l ...
.
Further reading
*
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline
Public housing estates in Hong Kong
Sha Tin