Editorial | Moves on Hong Kong land supply step in right direction for city development

Hong Kong’s insatiable appetite for development and growth has made boosting land supply a priority.

While the city is arguably not as land-strapped as it appears, projects often have to overcome rigid rules on zoning and uses to proceed.

Successive governments have talked about removing barriers and streamlining the process, though the pace is still painfully slow in some cases.

In another step to enhance development projects and land supply, the government has relaxed conditions on land exchanges for the Northern Metropolis in the New Territories and extended a standard rate land premium scheme to farmland and more industrial sites.

Under the revised land exchange arrangements for the Enhanced Conventional New Town Approach, the government may help an applicant with 90 per cent ownership of private land in a designated development site to acquire the remaining 10 per cent by compensating those affected under the land resumption law.

The applicant will be required to pay full market premium for the entire site, and build public facilities as specified by the authorities with a premium reduction.