SDEV speaks on public tender of Yuen Long site

Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, speaking to the media on the public tender of a site in Yuen Long this afternoon (December 31):

Reporter: What do you expect of the impact on the property market? Do you think that there are enough restrictions to make sure that these flats will be affordable to the public?

Secretary for Development: This particular initiative is to try to increase the supply of small and medium-sized flats in Hong Kong. It has no particular relevance to the property prices as such. For the time being, we cannot ascertain exactly the market interest in this sort of land sale. But in terms of restrictions in the Conditions of Sale, we have specified the number of units to be built as well as the sizes of these units. They are broadly in the range of what we called the small and medium-sized flats. In addition, I would say that this is a land sale in which we have incorporated as much as possible the new features under the quality built environment. For example, we have specified that the maximum of the so-called "inflation", that is the concessionary GFA (gross floor area), is subject to a 10% cap. We have also stipulated building separation. We have also stipulated wide pedestrian walkways and so on, as well as underground car park. So in addition to experimenting with the sale of land, and to specifying the units and sizes of flats, I hope that this exercise is also to illustrate that what we have proposed under the regulation of inflated buildings is workable in practice, because we have put in all those features in our own land sale conditions.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Friday, December 31, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:49

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