To turn farmland into public housing, Hong Kong must first agree on what’s fair. And that’s the problem
Bernard Chan says the public-private partnership model has worked in the past and can work again – if government officials, the developers who own the land, and the general public set aside their mistrust and commit to finding a deal that benefits all
Hong Kong is still going through an intense debate about land supply. It should be clear by now is that this is not a single problem with a single answer. We have near-term, medium-term and long-term needs for space – and they almost certainly have different solutions.
I have said before that our current housing prices are distorted – the gap between valuations and affordability for end users will have to narrow at some stage. The land supply debate is about making sure we do not get into this situation again, and we have adequate and liveable housing in the future.
I support large-scale reclamation, like the proposed artificial island east of northern Lantau, as a long-term source of space. Unlike other options, it would create a large empty area for planners to design a modern and comfortable living and working environment from scratch. However, it would be 10 to 20 years before the land is available for use.
In the nearer term, we have no choice but to find smaller parcels of land suitable for housing, essentially in the New Territories. The debate is especially fierce on what sort of land to use – the edges of country parks, golf courses, brownfield sites currently used for commercial activities, or fallow agricultural land.
Every option is controversial and involves technical, zoning and other issues. But I believe that if we are pragmatic and objective about this, one option stands out – and that is the privately owned farmland.
