To increase the supply of housing land is the fundamental solution to solving the pressing housing problem of the Hong Kong community, and the effort should be made immediately without delay. To address such urgent needs, we are rezoning suitable sites to provide more housing land as soon as possible. At the same time, we are fully aware of the enormous challenges we face in our rezoning work. As such, we have to be well prepared in advance to allay public concern, so as to foster better understanding and solicit public support.
In fact, before we put forward each rezoning proposal, our colleagues in the Planning Department (PlanD) and related Government departments have already done a lot of preparation to examine carefully all sorts of possible impacts. The Government is not seizing land for housing blindly as some people allege. My colleagues in the PlanD always prepare thoroughly so that they can provide facts and figures to members of the local communities and listen to their requests when they meet them in the districts.
Let me further elaborate with the example of the Hong Kong School of Motoring site in Ap Lei Chau, which attracted media coverage recently. We understand the local community’s worry that the proposed housing development might add a heavy burden to local traffic. However, according to a traffic assessment conducted by the Transport Department, given the scale of the current proposed housing development, it would not bring about an unacceptable traffic impact on major roads in Ap Lei Chau (including Ap Lei Chau Bridge). In addition, the traffic impact on roads outside Ap Lei Chau (including Aberdeen Tunnel, as well as the major roads in Aberdeen and Wong Chuk Hang), would be minimal. It is anticipated that the traffic flow in Ap Lei Chau will improve after the South Island Line (East) comes into operation. As for the safety concerns over the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) depot and oil products transit depot near South Horizons, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has conducted a prima facie assessment of gas risks and found that the LPG depot and oil products transit depot would not cause insurmountable problems to the proposed rezoning of the site for residential development. Furthermore, in order to ensure public safety, a quantitative risk assessment will be conducted for the proposed development in accordance with the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines.
As shown by this case, we will give careful consideration and carry out various necessary assessments in accordance with a well-established mechanism before making land use rezoning proposals. Since the early-stage preparation for land development takes time due to the need to conduct various impact assessments and technical studies, the sites on which consultations are underway are mostly those 150 sites or so identified to have potential for housing development announced in the Policy Address last year. It is our target to make available these sites within five years as a part of the short to medium-term housing land supply. Nonetheless, the Government’s efforts to increase housing land supply should not be confined to these five years – we should also address the needs in the short, medium and long-term with our multi-pronged strategy in land supply. As it is estimated that the various new development areas and new town extension will only supply the first batch of flats starting from 2023, there is a need for us to continue with land use reviews to identify more sites with development potential, on top of those already announced. By doing so, we can maintain a stable land supply and help meet the target of providing 480 000 housing units within the next 10 years before new land is made available in the new development areas and new town extension.
Recently, a media report alleged that the Government had conducted clandestinely a consultancy study for sites in Ma On Shan to pave way for a private developer’s project in the district. The allegation is unsubstantiated and I must respond to it with the utmost severity. The aforementioned consultancy study is part of the regular technical studies of the works departments, and the eight potential sites for housing development in the longer term covered in the study are all on government land. As the study is still at the preliminary stage, it is not certain whether the sites will be used for housing development and whether such development will be public or private housing. According to the established practice, if the sites are found to be suitable for housing development, the Government will, in accordance with the established policy and procedures, clear such sites as necessary and allocate them to the Housing Authority to build public housing or sell them under the land sale programme for private housing development. Favouritism towards individual developers is simply impossible, and the allegation that the Government is planning to develop country parks through the same study is utter nonsense. All of the eight sites which fall outside the country park area are mainly located in Green Belt zones along existing roads or in those where the vegetation has already been disturbed or damaged. In addition, the potential environmental impact of the proposed developments is another factor in considering whether the relevant sites would be rezoned for development. In fact, the Development Bureau has reiterated on numerous occasions that currently the Government has no plans to develop country parks for housing purposes.
Undoubtedly, the current predicament of land shortage in Hong Kong is the result of slow land development caused by economic volatility over the last decade or so. We have to learn our lessons and press ahead with land development and planning work continuously. I hope that members of the public will view our efforts in such development work with an open mind and in a fair and pragmatic manner rather than over-generalising the issue or even resorting to scaremongering. As always, we will spare no effort to explain our work to the public. It is our belief that good preparation work in our land development will be conducive to increasing land supply and bring benefits to the community as a whole.
14 June, 2015
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