HK CentralGovernmentOffices MainWing Wholeview

HK CentralGovernmentOffices EastWing Entrance

The Former Central Government Offices (also the Government Headquarters), now called Justice Place, is an office building complex that formerly housed most of the major offices of the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

. The complex is located in Central,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, occupying the lower level of Government Hill. The offices of the government have been relocated to the Main Block of the Central Government Complex, Tamar.

History

Completed in 1957 by the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

, it replaced a two-storey colonial complex from the 1930s, the old Secretariat Building (built in 1847 and demolished in 1954). Like

Hong Kong City Hall Hong Kong City Hall (HKCH, ) is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. In the 19th century, the British founded the Victoria, Hong Kong, City of Victoria in the present-day Centra ...

, the complex was built in the

International style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

Legislative Council

The

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

met here until 1985, when it moved to the old Supreme Court Building.

Government offices

All major government departments except the Department of Justice are now located at the

Central Government Complex The Central Government Complex has been the headquarters of the Government of Hong Kong since 2011. Located at the Tamar, Hong Kong, Tamar site, the complex comprises the Central Government Offices, the Legislative Council Complex and the ...

in Tamar. The

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

remained at the former Central Government Offices Main and East Wing, which was renamed Justice Place.

Former home

The building that formerly housed the offices were actually a complex of three wings with a total of 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 was the Main Wing, housing offices of the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and site of most major protests against the

(another site is the LegCo). 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 of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Plans are under way to replace the current buildings with a new office at the Tamar basin 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. The government has proposed to demolish the West Wing while community groups are proposing to protect the historic site.CE lays out his vision for a greener and more vibrant Hong Kong
/ref> List of tenants of the three complexes: * West Wing ** Civil Service Bureau ** Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau ** Economic Development Bureau ** Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau * Main Wing ** Constitutional Affairs Bureau ** Security Bureau ** Chief Executive * East Wing ** Security Bureau

References

* ''Sing Pao Star Daily'', 23 October 2005 No 176, p 50–52

External links

Old Secretariat Building

Public Views Invited on the Proposed Gradings of the Post 1950 Former Central Government OfficesPlans and PhotosReference materials

Central Government Offices, Historic and Architectural Appraisal
, 2009 *

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Secretary for Development, Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monum ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
Former Central Government Offices (CGO), Central, Hong Kong
Pictures
SiteMain WingEast WingWest Wing
{{Government buildings in Hong Kong Central, Hong Kong Government buildings completed in 1957 Government buildings in Hong Kong Government Hill Landmarks in Hong Kong Hong Kong - Central Government Offices Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong