Government to sell 8 sites in third quarter

The 8 sites are expected to produce about 6,000 units twice the number provided by the nine residential sites put up for sale in the second quarter.

The Government will put seven sites from the 2011-12 application list up for sale in the coming July to September quarter in a bid to increase land supply, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam announced on Friday. The West Rail property development project at Nam Cheong Station is also planned for disposal.

“As mentioned by the Financial Secretary at the meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Financial Affairs yesterday (Thursday), the Government will continue to supply more housing land to the market and announce our land sale programme in advance on a quarterly basis,” Mrs Lam said.

The eight sites combined are expected to produce about 6,000 units - double the estimated 3,000 units provided by the nine residential sites put up for sale in the April to June quarter, Mrs Lam added.

A site on Oil Street in North Point, formerly used as a government supplies depot, will be sold by tender for mixed uses, including a mandatory hotel and residential or commercial development. The six other residential sites - in Sai Kung, Sha Tin, South Bay, Stanley, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long - are of different sizes, located throughout the territory.

Developers will have to provide a minimum number of flats at each of the three bigger sites, at Sha Tin Kau To, Yuen Long Tan Kwai Tsuen and Tseung Kwan O. Added together, they will provide a minimum of about 2,100 flats, Mrs Lam said.

“We are striving to provide a variety of housing sites to meet different demands in the market. We are therefore also putting out for sale three sites in Stanley, South Bay and Sai Kung that are suitable for low-rise house development.”

The Government has also been revising master layout plans of four West Rail property development projects - at Nam Cheong, Tsuen Wan 5 (Cityside), Tsuen Wan 5 (Bayside) and Long Ping (North) - to comply with new requirements designed to control so-called inflated buildings, and increase the supply of small and medium-sized flats.

Subject to the Town Planning Board’s approval, West Rail Property Development Limited will put the Nam Cheong site out for tender in September. It is expected to provide 3,313 flats to the market, about 75% of which - 2,485 - are small and medium-sized flats, Mrs Lam said.

“We will continue these efforts while closely monitoring market developments in drawing up the land-sale programme for the remainder of this financial year.”