Exclusive | Hong Kong balances public housing targets with cost-saving measures amid review

Hong Kong authorities are actively seeking ways to reduce the construction costs of public housing, including a review of foundation designs and the postponement of projects facing significant technical challenges, the city’s housing minister has revealed.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin assured in an exclusive interview with the Post that the project review would not jeopardise the overall target of supplying 308,000 public flats in the next decade, as any reduction in homes from postponed projects will be offset by an increase from other developments.

“For each of the projects [with more technical challenges] postponed, I must ask my colleagues whether there is something that can be fast-tracked. We cannot postpone everything, or we will lose the target,” she said.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to cut the waiting time for a public rental home from the current 5.3 years to 4.5 years by 2026-27, prioritising improvements to the city’s standard of living.

Given the financial difficulties faced by the city’s largest public housing provider, the Housing Authority, coupled with the administration’s substantial financial deficit and a subdued property market, authorities are now intensifying efforts to lower public housing construction costs.

Last month, the government postponed an 8,300-flat public housing estate in Fanling, New Territories. Instead, it prioritised other “more cost-effective” projects in and around the area, which are expected to yield 38,000 homes.