First of all, I need to point out that there is already an internal mechanism in the Government to allocate land for developing public or private housing at its site search stage. We have all along been allocating suitable land to the Housing Authority (HA) to build public housing flats while maintaining a certain amount of land in the Application List to ensure stable housing land supply in both the public and private sectors. Determining the best land use options is one of the daily tasks of the Development Bureau (DEVB) and the Planning Department. During land allocation, we must balance the needs of different sectors. To assume that the Government can assist people in moving into public housing flats or buying their own homes simply by redeploying some land in the Application List for public housing is to neglect the responsibility of the Government both to ensure adequate supply of land to meet the set target for public housing flat production and to meet public demand for private residential flats.
Besides demand for public housing, the community also has actual & substantial demand for private housing. We have to continue to achieve the target of making available housing land from different sources for building 20,000 private residential flats a year on average. As we are facing a shortage of land supply today, the Government has to strike a balance between public and private housing land supply to ensure that the targets of both sides can be met and cannot irresponsibly change the land in the Application List for public housing development. To do otherwise would be disregarding the need of the large number of Hong Kong people who are ineligible for public housing flats and have demand for private housing.
Furthermore, the Government should not only focus on the present demand, but also cater for the needs of years down the road. Although land has been made available for the production of 20,000 private residential flats a year in the past two years, it should be noted that a substantial proportion of this has come from property developments along railway lines, urban renewal, and lease modifications or land exchanges by private developers. Land supply from the above sources will fluctuate and will be affected by changing market environment, and the Government cannot control the factors affecting such supply/ the progress of such supply. It is the role of the Government to stabilise land supply, and hence the Government should maintain a certain amount of sites ready for disposal in the market, so that we can make adjustments promptly according to the fluctuation of different sources of land supply and uphold the sustainability and stability of private housing land supply in time to avoid any lag behind the prevailing circumstances.
Nevertheless, government policy is not cast in stone. In view of the very favourable response to the Greenview Villa project, the CE has announced in his Policy Address the intention to invite the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) to participate in subsidised housing development, and has set aside a site in Sha Tin, which was originally designated for the My Home Purchase Plan, for the HKHS to develop a similar housing project providing about 700 flats. In response to this commitment made in the Policy Address, the DEVB has decided to allocate a site in Tseung Kwan O on the Application List to the HA to develop about 1,000 HOS flats. In fact, four pieces of land in Chai Wan, Tsuen Wan, Mui Wo and Yuen Long in the Application List have been converted for public housing development over the past three years. I must emphasise that all these measures have been given serious and careful consideration.
Besides the shortage of housing land, there is also a shortage of land for hospitals, elderly homes and student hostels, as well as for sports, religious, arts and cultural venues and other community facilities. The Government has to meet the land demand of different sectors and build a good home for all.
The Government understands the urgent need for housing in the community. We are working hard to study different feasible ways to expedite land supply. We are determined to increase land supply for both public and private housing and will waste no time in doing so.
27 January, 2013
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