San Po Kong site set to yield 800 cheap flats for sale to public housing tenants

A former industrial site in San Po Kong may provide a block of about 800 subsidised public flats for sale under a new government housing scheme, the South China Morning Post has learned.

The scheme, open only to public housing tenants, will offer deeper discounts than the existing Home Ownership Scheme, which some public tenants have been reluctant to take advantage of due to the price and high management fees.

Buyers at San Po Kong would not pay high fees as the site had no slope to maintain, a Housing Authority member said after a closed-door meeting on strategic planning yesterday. The project could also yield a fairly large number of flats, so maintenance costs would be spread among more households, said the member, who declined to be named.

The plot of land, next to Rhythm Garden on King Fuk Street, used to be occupied by five multi-storey factories. The authority earmarked it for public rental housing after the demolishment of the factories in 2007. The block is already being built and is likely to be ready by 2017.

Now, members had agreed the block was suitable for the new type of subsidised housing, the unnamed member said. But the authority must first consult Wong Tai Sin district council before finalising its decision.

District councillor and pan-democratic lawmaker Wu Chi-wai backed the idea.

"It is a desirable location because the single block is close to existing community facilities such as a sports ground," Wu said. "It is also convenient as a future MTR station of the Sha Tin to Central Link will be nearby."