The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government:
Find ways to increase the supply of land and public housing
Homeowners have their own homes, and the housing problem has plagued Hong Kong for many years.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has repeatedly stated that in response to the housing problem, the Special Administrative Region Government is trying every means to increase the supply of land and public housing.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Carrie Lam, recently emphasized that housing is not a simple commodity, but an important pillar of social stability. The Special Administrative Region Government has introduced a number of new housing policies to strive to allow families of different classes to live in.
All walks of life in Hong Kong have also united with the SAR government, actively making suggestions and suggestions, and working hard to solve the land and housing supply dilemma.
Increase the proportion of public housing
"The current and previous governments have put housing and land as the top priority for policy considerations." Carrie Lam said in an interview with the media recently that the SAR government has a very important role in housing supply, not because Hong Kong is a free market and capital. Socialist society ignores it.
"In order for the people to have feelings for this place, they must live in peace and contentment in order to work happily."
In order to allow families of different classes to live there, the SAR government has introduced some new housing policies.
Carrie Lam pointed out in his 2020 policy address that the SAR government will use 70% of the newly developed land for public housing construction, which is a significant increase compared to before.
In the past five years, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has built more than 66,000 public housing units, and the number of public housing projects built in the future will increase.
According to Wong Wai Lun, Director of the Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Hong Kong currently has 450 hectares of brownfields (abandoned industrial or commercial land) with development potential and no development plan. The Planning Department of the Special Administrative Region Government has reviewed 160 hectares in 2019, identified and announced 8 groups of brownfield clusters that can be used for higher-density public housing development in the short and medium term.
The survey shows that the area of these 8 groups of brownfield groups is about 36 hectares.
The Civil Engineering and Development Department of the SAR Government has successively launched engineering feasibility studies on these eight brownfield clusters starting in June 2020.
The study predicts that at this stage, these 8 groups of brownfield clusters can build a total of more than 20,000 sets of public housing.
To cope with the supply shortage, the engineering feasibility study will further explore whether to increase the supply of units.
For families waiting for public housing and other citizens with poor living conditions, before their turn to housing, the SAR government promises to provide 15,000 transitional housing units within 3 years, and try to provide cash to low-income families waiting for long-term public housing Allowances, research on the implementation of rent control for "subdivided housing", etc.
Increase land supply
"The only problem now is to find land." Carrie Lam said frankly. In the final analysis, the core of Hong Kong's housing problem is the lack of land for housing construction.
To solve the housing problem, the supply of land must be increased.
The SAR government will not let go of every method of land search, including developing brownfields, rebuilding old areas, and re-planning industrial areas, but the most important land supply is reclamation.
Huang Weilun introduced that the SAR government is actively promoting various measures to increase land supply.
The Tung Chung East Reclamation Project on Lantau Island started at the end of 2017 and is scheduled to be completed in 2030. It is expected to provide approximately 62,100 housing units (including 44,700 public housing units).
The Kwu Tung North/Fanling North New Development Area, which is expected to be completed before 2032, will provide approximately 71,800 housing units (including 48,500 public housing units); the Hung Shui Bridge/Ha Village New Development Area, which is expected to be completed before 2038, will provide Provide approximately 61,000 housing units (including 31,200 public housing units).
In 2018, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government put forward the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision". It plans to reclaim 1,700 hectares in the eastern part of Lantau and build new towns. It is planned to provide 260,000 to 400,000 housing units for a population of 700,000 to 1.1 million.
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that this is a large-scale land development plan in Hong Kong in the past 20 years. The Hong Kong Legislative Council has now issued research grants to the SAR government, which will bring huge economic benefits to Hong Kong.
However, Wong Wai-lun said that the SAR government will strive to strike a balance between land supply development and natural environment conservation.
Currently, Hong Kong’s built-up areas (including urban areas and new towns) only account for 24% of the total land area in Hong Kong, and most of the remaining land is reserved for country parks, conservation areas and other conservation purposes.
Even after 10 years, this proportion will not exceed 30%. The SAR government will make good use of the built-up land to ensure sustainable development.
Speed up the construction process
All sectors of the Hong Kong society also actively advise and offer suggestions, hoping that Hong Kong can solve the housing problem as soon as possible.
The "Land and Housing Policy Research Report" recently released by the Hong Kong Solidarity Fund pointed out that in the past 20 years, Hong Kong lacked large-scale land development plans and the shortage of land and housing supply has caused citizens to "live more expensively" and "live smaller."
The "Lantau Tomorrow Vision" will be the key to changing stakeholders' expectations of future land and housing supply.
"To improve the supply of land and housing, the SAR government should not only develop the "Lantau Tomorrow" and other ten-year plans, but also make good use of the development potential of the existing brownfield and playground land, and actively convert idle land into transitional housing." The media "Hong Kong 01" stated that it hopes that the Hong Kong society can build a consensus to help the SAR government brainstorm and meet the housing needs of Hong Kong people in a multi-pronged approach.
The Hong Kong Solidarity Fund report recommends that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government should act vigorously and expedite the implementation of all major land redevelopment plans, including new development areas, land rezoning, railway superstructures, urban renewal, etc., while streamlining the current administrative procedures for land and housing development. .
It is hoped that all sectors of the Hong Kong society can unite and support the government to actively promote all land and housing development projects, solve the land and housing supply dilemma, so that every citizen can have a "comfortable home".
Wang Lingxi
Wang Lingxi