Policy Address

81.       The Government will relax outdated restrictions and streamline procedures to facilitate land development.  For example, in last year's Policy Address, I announced lifting the development moratorium on the area close to Wah Fu Estate for public housing development and the redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate to provide about 11 900 additional PRH units in total.

82.       A Pilot Scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium has been launched to facilitate agreement on land premium for lease modification or land exchange applications, with a view to expediting land supply for housing and other uses.

83.       Since its inauguration, the current-term Government has continued to increase private housing land supply.  It is estimated that the private housing land supply in 2014-15 is capable of providing more than 20 000 residential units, a record high since the Government introduced the private housing land supply target in 2010.

84.       On land sales, from April 2012 to December 2014, the Government sold 73 private residential sites capable of providing about 25 400 units.  Most of the sites put up for sale were of small to medium size and the entry barrier to tendering was relatively low.  As a result, over 40 developers of different scales were awarded sites.  We see increasing competition among the developers in bidding land and selling flats.

85.       Recently, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) completed the planning procedures for the property development project at the West Rail Yuen Long Station, which is capable of providing about 1 880 units.  The Government also encourages the MTRCL to launch its property development projects as soon as possible, and the MTRCL has responded positively.  Last year, the MTRCL successfully tendered three projects capable of providing about 6 100 units.  The MTRCL is embarking on tendering work for other projects.  The Government is taking forward the planning for residential development at the West Rail Kam Sheung Road Station and Pat Heung Maintenance Centre in Kam Tin South, which are expected to provide about 8 700 units.  The preliminary land use review of the adjoining areas has been completed and these areas are estimated to have the potential for providing approximately 25 000 additional units.  At the same time, we will continue to actively explore with the MTRCL and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation the development potential of stations and related sites along the existing and future rail lines, such as Siu Ho Wan in Lantau.

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