HK govt to increase residential land supply

Kai Tak Development Area in Hong Kong will provide residential land in 2013, while the government will continue to offer such land across Hong Kong, said Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) Thomas Chow.

Chow said that the government is pushing ahead with infrastructure works at Kai Tak to allow for the release of private housing land plots from 2013.

The government will continuously provide residential land through developments in urban areas, create new development sites in the northern New Territories and develop Tung Chung New Town.

Currently, the government is surveying the quarry site at Anderson Road and planning an assessment of the former Cha Kwo Ling Kaolin Mine site. It will also take on studies to identify more land for housing.

The government is also looking at an early site formation to aid housing development in the Northeast New Territories’ new development sites, with land available by 2018.

The Legislative Council Finance Committee has granted funding for the survey of the Hung Shui Kiu new development area, with land to be available for development by 2021.

Chow said that aside from the land-sale programme, other sources of residential land supply include land exchange, lease modification, private redevelopment projects, Urban Renewal Authority projects and railway property development projects.

Chow also said that the government should explore new ways to supply land with reclamation projects within the Victoria Harbour and rock cavern development vicinity.

The government has scheduled public-engagement campaigns in Q4, with the goal of achieving community agreement on these initiatives, he added.

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