EV charging facilities to be installed at 33,000 residential locations by year-end

Michael Shum

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan announced that by the end of the year, charging facilities for electric vehicles will be installed in approximately 33,000 parking spaces across various residential estates.

Tse revealed that the government received 788 applications from private housing estates for subsidies to install EV charging facilities under the EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme before last year's deadline. Of these, 724 applications were approved.

By the end of July, 17,000 parking spaces in 106 private housing estates had already been equipped with charging facilities.

"We anticipate that the total number of parking spaces with EV infrastructure will reach 33,000 in private housing estates citywide by the year's end," Tse said.

He added that homeowners have praised the scheme as "second to none," and EV owners have expressed how the charging facilities enhance their convenience.

One owner said: "I simply plug in my vehicle after work every two to three days, and it takes just six to seven hours to charge, which is more than enough for my daily needs."

Another added: "Instead of paying HK$3,000 to HK$4,000 in fuel costs, I now only spend about HK$300 on electricity [for my vehicle] each month."

Also, Tse announced plans for Hong Kong's first recycling facility for electric vehicle batteries which will be built in EcoPark, Tuen Mun, with construction expected to be completed by early 2026.

The government is also facilitating the operation of EV charging services at government car parks, allowing market participation in this sector.

"The Environment and Ecology Bureau is actively encouraging fuel station operators to install EV charging facilities at their existing stations," Tse added.

Also, the government has allocated two plots of land for future electric vehicle charging stations.

Since 2011, the government has approved 86,200 car park spaces with EV charging capabilities as part of its gross floor area concession policy. Over 35,800 of these spaces have already been constructed.

Tse said the government's goal is to increase the total number of public and private car park spaces with charging facilities to around 200,000 by mid-2027.