Housing supply to balloon to 470,000 units over the next 10 years

60% should be public housing.

According to a report, Hong Kong must find adequate land to meet its housing supply target for the next decade, Chief Executive CY Leung says.

Delivering his 2014 Policy Address today, he said the Government accepts the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee’s recommendation to increase housing supply to 470,000 units over the next 10 years, of which 60% should be public housing.

To meet this target, choices and trade-offs will have to be made, and practical planning factors must be considered. Public transport must be optimised, including new railway lines and bus route rationalisation, and a “bicycle-friendly” environment in new towns and new development areas will be fostered.

About 150 sites will have to be rezoned for residential use and made available over the next five years to provide about 210,000 additional public and private units, he said, while development density in existing residential areas must be increased. Land administration must be streamlined and development restrictions eased, he added.

An area near Wah Fu Estate south of Pok Fu Lam, he said, will provide 11,900 additional public rental housing and Home Ownership Scheme units, while the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area will accommodate 175,000 people and provide 100,000 jobs.

Many areas of lesser ecological value in the Northern New Territories could be developed as well, he added, while relocating sewage facilities in Sha Tin and Diamond Hill to rock caverns and exploring other uses of underground space could yield more sites for residential units.