The new government should raise the annual construction target of public rental housing by 10,000 flats - to 25,000 - to shorten the waiting list, says an adviser to chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying.
It should also increase provision of different housing and care facilities for the elderly, who will make up a quarter of the city's population in two decades, another adviser says.
Their comments came as Leung yesterday reiterated the need to restructure the housing bureau to solve the problems of grass-roots classes.
Michael Choi Ngai-min (pictured), the Housing Authority member who helped Leung draft his platform, said last week that he forecast the number of applications for public rental housing, standing at 175,900 in December, would hit 200,000 by next year - a 20-year high.
'It is an alarming increase,' Choi said.
'I am afraid the Housing Authority is facing a mounting challenge to keep up its pledge to allot applicants a flat within three years.'
Partly because of rocketing rents in the private sector, the number of applications is growing more rapidly, by more than 15 per cent in each of the past two years.
