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Hong Kong property
Opinion
Ryan Ip
Monte Mu
Ryan IpandMonte Mu

Solving Hong Kong’s chronic housing shortage requires a broad approach

  • The government needs to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increasing land supply, including reclamation off the east of Lantau Island

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Aerial view of Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula. Photo: Roy Issa
Ryan IpandMonte Mu
Two of the most important sources for Hong Kong’s medium to long-term housing supply are the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Areas (NDAs) in the northeast New Territories, especially for public housing. These areas are also key to the government’s multi-pronged approach to increasing land supply.

The Development Bureau recently submitted an application to the Legislative Council’s panel on development for HK$46.9 billion (US$6 billion) of funding for the main work, detailed design and special ex gratia cash allowance for the development of Kwu Tung North and Fanling North. As most panel members expressed support, the application entered the next stage of discussion at the public works subcommittee. This would signal concrete progress for this project which has already taken more than three decades.

The road to developing Kwu Tung North and Fanling North has been bumpy. Although the government’s “The Planning and Development Study on North East New Territories” in 1998 set out the early framework, the development process was interrupted when Hong Kong was hit by the financial crisis and then Sars.

In 2007, the government’s “Hong Kong 2030: Planning Vision and Strategy” document proposed developing the New Territories to help meet long-term housing needs. In 2008, the “North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study” finally put the development of Kwu Tung North and Fanling North on the agenda. After some 10 years of research, planning, consultation and discussion, the project is ready to take off.

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