Hong Kong prefabricated home trials to be launched at HKU and Science and Technology Park

Prefabricated accommodation will house employees and university students as government considers alternative solutions to housing supply problem

Reading Time:3 minutes

A pilot project called InnoCell in the Science and Technology Park in Sha Tin will provide homes to young employees at the park. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 3:45pm, 21 Sep 2017Updated: 11:46pm, 15 Oct 2017

The Science and Technology Park and the University of Hong Kong will be the sites for two trials of prefabricated homes for students and employees, the secretary of development has revealed.

Both the government and the construction industry welcomed the idea of relieving housing pressure in the city through use of prefabricated living units, Development Bureau chief Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Thursday morning, just a day after he said the government had no particular stance on building container homes.

The idea of using such structures as low-rent residences was raised on Wednesday by the Council of Social Service. The council has been in talks with several developers over plans to build container homes ranging from 160 to 320 sq ft in size, which could each house two to five people. These homes are to be rented at cheap rates to families on the waiting list for public housing.

Container homes have already been used in the Netherlands. Photo: Handout

Speaking at the opening ceremony for Construction Safety Week, Wong said the government had two pilot projects in mind: one called InnoCell at the Science and Technology Park in Sha Tin and the other at the University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam.

The prefabricated houses would be dormitories for young employees of the park and for students at the university, the development chief said.