The Hong Kong government should allocate HK$300 billion ($38.54 billion) in fiscal reserves to purchase or resume developing 2,600 hectares of unused agricultural land in the New Territories to solve the city’s housing and industrial upgrade problems, civic organization New Prospect for Hong Kong proposed on Wednesday.
The move would not only ease the long-standing housing shortage in Hong Kong, but also help the New Territories to become the city’s high-end tech center, civic organization New Prospect for Hong Kong said
The organization suggested that the government convert the land into public land reserves. About 1 million housing units and youth hostel units could be generated under the proposal, of which more than 70 percent should be offered as public housing, it said.
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The land could also be used for building high-end technology and education parks, the organization said.
The move would not only ease the long-standing housing shortage in Hong Kong, but also help the New Territories to become the city’s high-end tech center, said the organization.
“The key is no longer use the ‘piecemeal’ approach,” said Morgan Chan, NPHK’s standing committee member and youth convenor.
The organization said there is a need for separating public and private housing, as well as abandoning the traditional piecemeal and fragmented way of land development.
“We propose a radical transformation of the process,” Chan said. “The government must swiftly devise a holistic vision for the entirety of the New Territories, and enter into the land resumption procedures necessary for the establishment of a robust land supply, whilst concurrently simplifying and decluttering the requisite planning processes in order to expedite the process.”
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NPHK said that it believes the new proposal will also create space and conditions for Hong Kong to perform its roles under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).
The organization said it will deliver the proposal to the government.
New Prospect for Hong Kong is a newly founded civic organization formed by people with different ages, professional backgrounds, and political values, but with the same goal – for a better Hong Kong.
aoyulu@chinadailyhk.com