Hong Kong housing shortage: government acts on John Lee pledge to ‘spare no effort’, sets stage for tenfold increase in homes to be built in second quarter

Government will sell three plots of residential land in Sha Tin, Kwai Chung and Tuen Mun valued by Knight Frank at up to HK$9.1 billion (US$1.2 billion) in the financial second quarter

Hong Kong will continue to increase supply in ‘multipronged approach’, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn says

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The Hin Wo Lane site in Sha Tin is among three plots of residential land that the government plans to sell, according to Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Published: 7:30pm, 14 Jul 2022Updated: 9:02pm, 14 Jul 2022

Hong Kong’s government will sell more land in its fiscal second quarter, increasing the number of homes that can be built on the land tenfold, after the new administration of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged to “spare no effort” to ease housing shortages in the world’s least affordable urban centre.

The government will sell three plots of residential land in Sha Tin, Kwai Chung and Tuen Mun, totalling 3.9 hectares (9.63 acres), according to an announcement by Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn.

The parcels, valued by Knight Frank at up to HK$9.1 billion (US$1.2 billion), can accommodate 2,600 flats, a tenfold increase from the 270 flats the government offered in the first quarter of the financial year that began on April 1.

“Looking ahead, the government will continue to increase that supply in a multipronged approach, sparing no efforts [to implement] a series of sites production projects, including new development areas, reclamation, rezoning of individual sites,” Linn said in her maiden address as the top official responsible for development.

The plan came hot on the heels of two task forces established by Lee’s new administration to tackle Hong Kong’s intractable housing problem and land supply. The two groups held their first meeting on Tuesday, along with two other task forces on underprivileged students and district matters.