August 25, 2022
The government established the "Steering Committee on Land and Housing Supply” and "Task Force on Public Housing Projects" to co-ordinate work relating to land and housing on 6 July. The DAB met the Financial Secretary, Mr. Paul Chan, and the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr. Michael Wong to share our expectations for the two groups.
We emphasized the two groups must set clear and quantifiable work objectives, relevant performance indicators (KPIs) and an accountability system.
Secondly, we were specifically concerned about increasing short-term housing supply. We urged the government to strive for the Town Planning Board’s approval on raising plot ratios of residential projects as permitted by the capacity of the infrastructure and community facilities.
Thirdly, we expected the government would submit bills about streamlining the development process and proposals on further compression of the development process when the Legislative Council resumes in October. With the application of new technologies such as MIC and BIM, we believed the supply of housing would speed up.
Last but not least, we again urge the government to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increase land supply, including a comprehensive review of the use of 16,000 hectares of green belts sites and resumption of studies in respect of sites on periphery of country parks.
Media enquiries:
DAB LegCo member Edward Lau (9782 7408)
DAB LegCo member Chan Hok Fung (6099 3800)