Hong Kong’s search for new land sites continues despite sluggish economy and sufficient supply, development chief says

Hong Kong authorities will look to source more land for their reserves despite the economy flagging and the current 7,000 hectares of supply exceeding future expected demand, the development chief has reaffirmed.

“Searching for land is long-term and lasting work, but the fact is the economy is a bit sluggish now,” Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho told a television show on Sunday.

The government last week withdrew a residential site for sale in Tung Chung owing to low bids. It was the second withdrawal of government land this financial year.

The site on reclaimed land covers 10,648 square metres (2.63 acres) and is expected to be sufficient for 414 private flats. Four tenders submitted for the parcel of land came from three developers and a joint venture of two firms.

Linn said it was understandable that developers tended to be “more reserved” when they were influenced by external factors in the market, but she remained optimistic that the economy’s stagnation would end.

“I tell myself and my colleagues that we should take the withdrawals in our stride, as we should not think the status quo will be the future,” Linn said.

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Lee also set a key target in delivering sufficient land for private housing in the next five years to stabilise supply.

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Linn on Sunday said there would never be enough sourcing of new land reserves because sites would need to go through studies such as the environmental impact assessment and legal proceedings.

The surplus of about 1,000 hectares of land provided some buffer against those sites that might end up not available for use, she added.

On the Northern Metropolis development, Linn said the primary budget plan would be revealed next year, but it would not be possible to break down a lot of details involving engineering design as it depended on the complexity of the construction, as well as the timelines.

The mega project covers 30,000 hectares in the northern New Territories, and is expected to provide half a million flats for 2.5 million residents and transform the region into an innovation and technology hub located at the border with mainland China.

Linn said she expected the plan to give the government and residents an idea about finances, and which projects developers could collaborate on in a bid to ease the burden on public coffers.