Huge home building projects to start soon

The government will soon begin building 17,000 flats over the next five years.

The government said it will strive to increase the overall supply of housing and facilitate the stable and healthy development of the property market by increasing land supply.

Its goal is to achieve the aims of the New Home Ownership Scheme that targets the building of 17,000 flats until 2017. That means an average of 5,000 flats per year when more sites are identified in future.

On the private housing side, making land available for an annual production of 20,000 flats on average over the next few years is not a fixed target. In the long term, the government aims to build up a land reserve to ensure steady supply for the property market.

Secretary for Transport & Housing Prof Anthony Cheung said the government will reactivate the long-term study on housing since it believes the provision of public and private residential flats should meet housing demand.

On public rental housing, he said the government will improve the land planning process and increase public housing supply to meet growing demand.

"The current annual average public rental housing production of 15,000 units is not a fixed target, and we will increase the supply having regard to the circumstances and subject to the land situation."

Among the reforms promised by new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying are increasing the supply of affordable housing and narrowing Hong Kong's income inequality.