Outdated and opaque administration stops Hong Kong from using land efficiently, think tank says

The way Hong Kong land is leased, managed and recorded is outdated, opaque and cumbersome, a city think tank has said, calling on officials to review the system.

Fragmented administration and decades-old laws were among problems preventing existing land from being used efficiently, the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute said on Sunday, even as the government hunts for new sources of land such as reclamation and building on golf courses.

“Without an efficient land administration system to effect land policies, land resources may be idle and misused or fall into uses which are illegal or in breach of lease, leading to a failure to release land with development potential in time,” the report read.