CY Leung's housing will require focus on land supply, backer says
Leung backer says building plans could fall apart unless the chief executive delivers sites big enough to handle large numbers of flats
Leung Chun-ying's ambitious housing targets risk being missed if the government does not prioritise building up land reserves, a key supporter of the chief executive has warned.
Property specialist Nicholas Brooke, a former president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, told the South China Morning Post yesterday that the government should prioritise making sites available that could handle large numbers of flats.
"The potential for the programme to slip is quite high because it's so complicated," Brooke said, warning that such difficulties could limit the government's ability to rein in property prices. "[Leung] has laid out his stall fairly well. But every site has its own challenges: land conversion, planning permission and infrastructure."
Brooke, who nominated Leung in last year's chief executive poll, said the compartmentalised mentality of civil servants could undermine the government's ability to deliver more land.
He also expects the already stretched construction industry would struggle to take on more work due to limited workers and resources, and believes the land supply programme will further increase construction costs.
His comments followed Leung's announcement in his maiden policy address of a raft of land supply measures, including controversial plans such as the creation of huge artificial islands west of Hong Kong Island, developing the border area, and lifting development restrictions in Pok Fu Lam and Mid-Levels.
Brooke said Leung was also constrained by the legacy of the previous administration, which did little to address a serious shortfall in land supply.