Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, at a media session on the land sale programme from July to September 2013 today (June 28):
Reporter: What are the residential sites that you are going to put to tender the next quarter? What are the limitations that you have for them? For the commercial site in Kowloon Bay, what do you hope that site can achieve for East Kowloon?
Secretary for Development: For the commercial site to be sold in Kowloon Bay, it is one site which could produce up to about 52 000 square metres of commercial floor area. This will facilitate the transformation of East Kowloon into another core commercial district. As to residential sites to be put up for sale in the coming quarter, there are altogether nine sites: two in Sha Tin, one each in Wan Chai, Yuen Long, Sha Tau Kok, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Sheung Shui and Sai Kung.
Reporter: Is the market volatility going to affect the Government's plan to put up land for sale in each quarter?
Secretary for Development: It is our policy objective to supply land to the market on a consistent and stable basis, so that it could help us address the balance in terms of demand and supply of housing units. Our policy will not be affected by the tender prices of individual sites. Although at the moment we are still monitoring the situation very closely, we have no intention to delay our supply of land because of isolated changes or isolated fluctuations in the market.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, June 28, 2013
Issued at HKT 21:28
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