LEGCO WORK

Motion on “Actively developing land and optimizing land use to promote the development of the economy and industries (2024.10.24)

Thank you, President. For many years in the past, due to various reasons, the Government has failed to make good use of land resources in Hong Kong, which has seriously restricted the development of Hong Kong. About 40 Members will be speaking this time, and there will be a lot of insightful views. I hope the Government can take on board these views and turn reasonable and practicable views into actions.

The current-term Government has been able to actively address difficult issues and has introduced several important bills to expedite land supply in this term of office, all of which have been passed by the Legislative Council. The Development (Town Planning, Lands and Works) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2022 (“the Bill”) streamlines the statutory procedures with respect to town planning, land resumption, reclamation, roads and railways, and proposes a number of measures to expedite the process of development and enhance speed and efficiency of land creation. Upon the implementation of the Bill, it is expected that the time to be taken for turning “primitive land” into a “spade-ready site” will be shortened from 13 years to 7 years for large-scale development projects, and from six years to four years for small-scale projects, benefiting a large number of development projects.

Moreover, to address the problem of ageing buildings, the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) (Amendment) Bill 2023 lowers the thresholds for an application for the compulsory sale of a lot; streamlines the legal process, and encourages the maintenance and redevelopment of old and dilapidated buildings, and it plays an important role in building a vibrant and liveable city. The Extension of Government Leases Bill also extends expiring leases in a streamlined manner so that members of the public no longer need to be worried about the “2047 time limit”, and boosts Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. All these bills play a positive role in stabilizing Hong Kong’s land supply. As long as the Government continues to work hard in the right direction and keeps introducing legislation to simplify the procedures related to land for housing construction, we believe that it can gradually alleviate the existing land problems.

The Government has also made preparations to build up land reserves and take back the initiative in land development to ensure stable and orderly market development. The Government should, in the light of market changes, flexibly deploy the proportion of reserves for public housing, private housing, commercial and common areas, and open space to ensure effective utilization and rational allocation of land resources to respond to changing land needs over time. As for the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, the project team plans to submit the environmental impact assessment (“EIA”) study report for the reclamation works within this year to formally initiate the statutory EIA process, with a view to commencing the reclamation works within the term of office of the current-term Government. In taking forward large-scale projects, the Government acts prudently and appropriately adjusts the pace with an unchanged long-term goal to build up stable and sufficient land reserves for the future.

The Northern Metropolis (“NM”) is an important development area in the future and has great development potential. NM will provide us with a valuable land supply. In formulating land development plans, the Government should conduct a comprehensive market demand analysis, including assessing the needs of different sectors such as housing, commercial, industrial, technology and infrastructure to determine the priority of land use and allocation ratio of land. The Government should also provide various incentives and support measures to attract investors and enterprises to NM, take responsibility for common development, and promote the development and upgrading of different industries. As land development plans span decades, the Government should carefully consider future development trends and demographic changes and forecast future land demand to ensure that land supply can tie in with changing market conditions and development strategies.

Thank you, President.

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