Lands Department oversees 5,800 short-term tenancies in February

Around 60% of STTs serve daily life needs, whilst 40% support commercial use.

As of February, the Lands Department (LandsD) managed over 5,800 short-term tenancies (STTs) spanning approximately 3,000 hectares, covering many different uses, according to Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn.

Around 60% of STTs are designated for daily life-related purposes, including public fee-paying carparks, education, social welfare, religion, leisure, and recreation.

The remaining 40% are for commercial and economic activities, which include shops, workshops, cargo container handling, open or indoor storage, and shipyards.

Linn also noted that when an STT reaches the end of its fixed term, LandsD will re-tender the site to give other interested operators in the market fair opportunities to bid on the site and maintain healthy competition.

However, many direct grant STTs related to commercial or economic activities may, with policy support or owing to special historical reasons, continue quarterly for an extended period upon expiry of the fixed term.

Currently, the government’s land grant policy primarily offers two options: land leases with tenure as long as 50 years or STTs with a fixed term of at most seven years.