The Buildings Department approved 19 building plans in May - five on Hong Kong Island, five in Kowloon and nine in the New Territories. Of the approved plans, nine were for apartment and apartment-commercial developments, three were for commercial developments, three were for factory and industrial developments, and four were for community services developments. 
     Consent was given for works to start on 14 building projects which will provide 353,428 sq m of gross floor area for domestic use involving 7,372 units, and 9,952 sq m for non-domestic use.
     The department also issued 18 occupation permits - seven on Hong Kong Island, three in Kowloon and eight in the New Territories. Buildings certified for occupation have 200,754 sq m of gross floor area for domestic use involving 3,754 units, and 112,708 sq m for non-domestic use.
     The Environmental Protection Department announced it recorded 91 convictions for pollution offences in May. The heaviest fine was $35,000 given to a company for contravening the conditions of a construction noise permit.Twelve convictions were for air pollution, 13 for noise, two for water pollution and 37 for illegal waste disposal.
     There were also 23 under the Public Cleansing & Prevention of Nuisances Regulation, three under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance and one under the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance.