Land supply is essential for maintaining the livelihood and well-being of the general public and the development of an area. Soon after taking office, Chief Executive Carrie Lam established the Task Force on Land Supply to review and make plans for Hong Kong’s land supply with comprehensive and macroscopic perspectives.
Earlier on, the HKSAR government undertook a research and an analysis on land supply and demand for the next 30 years. It is found that there is a supply shortage of at least 1,200 acres in the categories of “Public and Private Housing”, “Commercial and Industrial”, as well as “Government, Institution or Community”.
Utmost priority: residential land
The government forecast together with other factors such as population growth in Hong Kong, and the resettlement of residents from redeveloping areas indicate that an additional one million housing units have to be built in the next 30 years. There is, however, a shortfall in residential land of as much as 230 acres. Stanley Wong, Chairman of the Task Force on Land Supply, emphasized that the figures are based on the assumption that the living space of inhabitants remains constant, with reference to recent plot ratios of new development zones. If the area of living space is further increased, land requirement would also go up accordingly.
Speaking of the latest “First-time Homebuyers Scheme” rolled out by the government, Wong reckoned that under the backdrop of inadequate land resources, setting an income floor is inevitable. He also said that if first-time home developments could be collaboratively built by the government and private developers, a triple-win situation could be achieved: the government could avoid using land for public housing; private developers could release their yet-to-be-developed land reserve held for years; and young families could achieve their goal of buying their first homes.
Land supply crucial for industrial and commercial development
As for economic land, Wong believed the relevant supply would be about 250 acres short. The shortfall would mainly center around CBD Grade A office, industrial and special industrial uses, etc. By contrast, non-CBD Grade A office and land for general business use would see surplus. Yet, this could only solve some of the shortfall problems of CBD Grade A office and land for industrial use.
While it is possible to exchange some of the Grade A offices located at the CBD and non-CBD, multinational corporations attach great importance to the location of their offices. They value convenience in meeting their clients, as well as the synergy generated within the locale. Wong reckoned that Hong Kong must exploit adequate land for Grade A office to attract local and overseas enterprises to set up their regional headquarters in Hong Kong, thus cementing Hong Kong’s position as a regional hub. He listed a number of projects: the redevelopment project of New World Centre is currently under construction; the development of Site 3 of the New Central Harbourfront and the redevelopment of the government buildings in Wan Chai, are both under progress. In the long term, new development zones such as Lok Ma Chau Loop, Kwu Tung North, Hung Shui Kiu, etc. would bring about new land for industrial and commercial development, creating new space for emerging industries.
Rising population pumps up demand in community land
Besides land for housing and economic uses, other land uses such as those for government, institution or community open spaces and transportation facilities are also integral to Hong Kong’s development. Many of the facilities are related to the population. Wong commented that as population grows, demand for these facilities would undoubtedly go up as well. With an ageing population, the demand for public facilities such as elderly care, healthcare and waste handling would also rise. On the basis of the latest population projections of the HKSAR government, there will be 8.22 million people in Hong Kong in 2043. The land required for the above facilities should not be overlooked. He foresaw that the relevant land shortfall would reach 720 acres, taking up as much as 60% of all shortfall in land supply.
To make better plans for land development in the future, Wong said that the Task Force would soon conduct public consultation on relevant discussions to collect views and to reflect those views truthfully to the government, so that the authorities could make long-term planning for Hong Kong’s land development.
