(Policy Address 2023) Govt to build 410,000 public homes, land supply reaches 3,370 hectares for next decade

The public housing demand for the next 10 years (from 2024-25 to 2033-34) is 308,000 units, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said, adding that there will be more than 7,000 hectares of land supply in the 30-year period up to 2048. 

The government has identified sufficient land for developing about 410,000 public housing units, about 100,000 units above the supply target, and Lee said this will substantially shorten the waiting time for public rental housing. 

In the next five years (from 2024-25 to 2028-29) total public housing supply including light public housing, will reach 172,000 units. Compared with the five-year period at the beginning of the current-term government (from 2022-23 to 2026-27), an additional of 67,000 households will benefit. 

Lee continued that there will be a land reserve of at least 1,000 hectares after taking into account the projected land demand. 

The government also released for the first time last year a 10-year supply forecast of developable land (spade-ready sites). 

Based on the latest data, the supply of spade-ready sites will reach 3,370 hectares in the next 10-year period (from 2024-25 to 2033-34), with an increase of 90 hectares compared to the 10-year supply forecast made last year. 

“The development of the Northern Metropolis will span across 20 years, and our target is to release all the land use and development proposals in 2024, commence land resumption by 2027, and form 40 percent of the new development land and complete 40 percent of the new flats by 2032,” Lee said. 

The Housing Authority will relax the arrangements on mortgage default guarantee for Subsidized Sale Flats, including extending the current maximum mortgage default guarantee period of the second-hand market from 30 years to 50 years to allow purchasers to have mortgage loans of longer tenor and help the circulation of flats. 

Moreover, starting from 2023-24, three sites will be put up for tender for private developers to develop subsidised sale flats with the first two tender sites providing at least 2,000 units.

The government will also sustain HA redevelopment projects, promote smart estate management and optimize the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) approach to enhance speed, efficiency and quality in building public homes.

Lee said the government will revitalize Hung Hom Station and nearby sites to upgrade the facilities of the Station and release commercial and residential floor areas. It also planned to explore ways to enhance pedestrian connectivity between Hung Hom and Tsim Sha Tsui East and improve the waiting areas of the bus stops near the Cross Harbour Tunnel.

It will also complete the study to map out the development direction of the 20-hectare ex-Lamma Quarry site next year, with consideration of developing the site for accommodation facilities with lower traffic demand such as senior citizen residential units, residential buildings for talents, and accommodation for personnel involved in recreational training.

The government will optimise the use of the quarry site and shoreline to provide leisure and recreational facilities for island tourism.