Eight options to free up land

THE Task Force on Land Supply (土地供應專責小組) has submitted its final report on its public consultation to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
It contains eight options for the government to consider in addressing local land shortage, which the group said is “significantly higher than 1,200 hectares as estimated by the Government earlier”.
The options can, together, create about 3,000 hectares of land.
Three short-to-medium term options are: developing brownfield sites, tapping into private agricultural land reserve in the New Territories and exploring alternative uses of sites under private recreational leases, including the development of the 32-hectare portion of the Fanling Golf Course (粉嶺高爾夫球場).
Task force chairman Stanley Wong (黃遠輝) said the majority of people support the use of brownfields as a major source of land supply.
The five medium-to-long term options are: nearshore reclamation outside Victoria Harbour (維港), developing the East Lantau Metropolis (東大嶼都會), developing caverns and underground space, more new development areas in the New Territories and developing the River Trade Terminal (屯門西內河碼頭).
Wong said the land shortage problem has plagued Hong Kong for a long time, and Hong Kong’s advancement will be constrained unless prompt action is taken to resolve it.

(This article is published on Junior Standard on 09 January 2019)

Report of the Task Force on Land Supply
http://bit.ly/2GQfeq6

Govt to study land supply proposals
http://bit.ly/2BWmf2X