This file photo taken on Aug 3, 2019, shows a general view of residential and commercial buildings in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong, with the skyline of Hong Kong Island past Victoria Harbour in the distance. (PHOTO / AFP)
Hong Kong’s developable land supply is expected to reach around 3,300 hectares in the next decade, more than half of which will be provided by the Northern Metropolis and the proposed Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday.
The Hong Kong SAR government has identified 7,300 hectares for future use, exceeding the 6,200 hectares envisaged in the “Hong Kong 2030+” strategic study for 2019-2048.
READ MORE: Chan: HK must make all-out effort to increase land supply
Securing sufficient land supply has been one of the priorities of the government to meet residents’ demand for housing and industrial development, Chan said. It also remains a major task for the Steering Committee on Land and Housing Supply led by the finance chief.
Chan also highlighted the importance of enhancing the productivity of Hong Kong’s construction industry, including adopting advanced and innovative building technologies, and increasing the supply of manpower
In addition to increasing the source of land supply, Hong Kong has made progress in streamlining legal procedures while retaining public participation, with an aim of identifying new land more swiftly, according to Chan.
On July 13, the Legislative Council passed an amendment bill regarding town planning, land and works. The amended ordinances will come into effect on Sept 1, and are expected to streamline the legal procedures for town planning, reclamation, and road and railway works.
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The bill includes measures to simplify the cartographic requirements under the Town Planning Ordinance to accelerate the planning process.
The simplified procedures can also benefit the Northern Metropolis and the proposed artificial islands, Chan said.
“With the streamlined legal procedures, the time required for such large-scale projects to go from inception to the first batch of spade-ready land being available can be reduced from the previous 10 years to seven years,” the financial secretary said.
He added that the time needed to switch undeveloped land to developable land for general public housing projects can be shortened from a minimum of six years to about four.
Chan also highlighted the importance of enhancing the productivity of Hong Kong’s construction industry, including adopting advanced and innovative building technologies, and increasing the supply of manpower.
READ MORE: HK to release 10-year residential land supply forecast
In addition to the government injecting a total of HK$2.2 billion ($281.4 million) into the Construction Innovation and Technology Fund, Chan has earmarked HK$60 million in the 2023-24 Budget to study the establishment of the Building Testing and Research Institute and Hong Kong’s first advanced construction industry building in Tsing Yi.
“The facilities will not only help the sector strengthen research and development and promote the application of new building technologies, but provide venues for the production of prefabricated reinforcements and modular components, thereby improving construction speed and safety,” Chan added.
The Labour Importation Scheme for the Construction Sector started accepting applications last Monday, which aims to bring up to 12,000 non-local workers to the city.
