The Task Force on Land Supply (Task Force) held its first meeting today (September 6). During the meeting, Members were briefed on the overview of land demand in Hong Kong, the current multi-pronged land supply strategy and the latest progress of the relevant initiatives.
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, joined the first part of the meeting. She said, “Addressing the housing problem tops the agenda of this term of Government. To properly address the problem, we must first ensure sufficient land supply. Hong Kong is not short of land for development, but what is lacking over the years is a broad consensus on where the land is to come from. The Task Force, appointed by me and led by professionals, will propose enhancement measures and new ideas on making optimal use of and developing land, and facilitate the community to discuss the pros and cons, priorities and trade-offs of the options, with a view to making a comprehensive recommendation for the Government to formulate the overall strategy on land supply. I believe the Task Force will make its best endeavour in forging the biggest community consensus.”
The Task Force chairman, Mr Stanley Wong, said the primary objective of the Task Force is to provide an objective and rational forum to assist and facilitate different sectors of the community to discuss and make trade-offs on the land supply options and their priorities through analyses of facts and the pros and cons, with a view to mapping out the direction for land supply that would benefit the community as a whole.
He said, “Members of the Task Force have agreed that Hong Kong is facing land shortage at present and in the long term. There is a need for the Government to continue providing land for meeting various needs of society, and this is an issue that the community has to tackle head-on. In the coming few months, the Task Force will first discuss internally the different land supply options and compile the relevant facts and figures, so that we can set out their pros and cons for public engagement in the first or second quarter next year. I hope that the Task Force can endorse a more specific work plan at the next meeting.”
The Task Force also discussed the arrangement on declaration of interest. All the papers of this meeting have been uploaded onto the Development Bureau’s website (www.devb.gov.hk/en/boards_and_committees/task_force_on_land_supply/index.html).
The Chief Executive appointed on September 1 this year 22 non-official members to the Task Force for a term of one and a half years from September 1, 2017 to February 28, 2019. There are also eight official members.
The terms of reference of the Task Force are as follows:
(i) to take stock of the demand and supply of land resources;
(ii) to review and recommend enhancement to the implementation of land development measures for the short, medium and long term already promulgated, and taking into account these measures to review and evaluate other land supply options and their relative priorities;
(iii) to raise public awareness of the facts and constraints in land supply;
(iv) to engage the public in thorough discussions on the pros and cons of different land supply options and facilitate consensus-building on the preferred options and their priorities; and
(v) to come up with a broad framework recommending enhancement to the overall land supply strategy and prioritising different land supply options for further consideration by the Government.
Ends/Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Issued at HKT 20:06
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