Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, at a media session today (December 29) on the quarterly land sale programme for January to March 2021:
Reporter: Firstly, about the annual target for private residential flat, you said you are confident we are getting closer to the target, but would you worry that the tender could be rejected in the coming quarter considering economic downturn? Secondly, for the year, the revenue from the land sale is actually lower than last year. Looking forward to 2021, do you think we can have a rebound? Can I also ask a little bit about the Sham Shui Po century-old reservoir? Does the Government think it needs to be declared as a monument and do you have any idea on how it needs to be preserved?
Secretary for Development: On the site at Bishop Hill, I think what we should now do is to await the evaluation by the experts who would then report to the AAB (Antiquities Advisory Board). The AAB will give a grading. Going forward, the Government will then consider what exactly to do with the site, having regard to AAB's recommendation.
In terms of overall direction, we do have a stance. We believe the site should be preserved. It should not be further demolished, and what has been demolished should be restored. And then, we should find a purpose for the site, which not only reflects the historic value of the site but should also be able to further the enjoyment of the people of Sham Shui Po and of Hong Kong.
There are many examples of success in the past. An example is our R-Scheme, the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, which we are able to preserve the building, the structure or the site and at the same time allow the public to have reasonable access to the site and enjoy the site. That will be the direction going forward. Exactly what to do will have to be determined having regard to the recommendation of the AAB, on that I do not wish to speculate.
Your question about the overall target, every year we take all sources of supply in the whole, and then we will come up with a figure which we hope can be as close or exceed the target as possible. For this year, at this moment where we are standing now, we are over 99 per cent completion of the target. We are not yet there. We are 30 units short of the target. Whether we can have those 30 units in the coming two months is something I do not wish to speculate but let's see what the market does.
On the revenue side, there are land parcels to be sold in the coming quarter which will go into the figures for the entire financial year. That is something which will be announced in the financial budget, again I do not wish to speculate on that at this point in time.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Issued at HKT 20:06
NNNN