Hong Kong should show public land acquisitions are in their interest, says father of Singapore planning Liu Thai Ker
- Liu, who oversaw the construction of more than half a million public housing units, says Hong Kong is not short of land
- Hong Kong government is reluctant to make full use of Lands Resumption Ordinance, fearing a wave of judicial reviews
The Hong Kong government should strengthen its ability to claim private land for the city’s development by showing the public that the land will be used for their benefit, said Liu Thai Ker, known as the father of Singapore’s city planning.
Liu, 80, was speaking to the Post on the sidelines of the International Conference on New Global Cities in Nanjing on Monday.
China could learn from Singapore’s public housing model
When was asked about the Hong Kong government’s initiative to reclaim 1,700 hectares of land off Lantau Island – the size 70 per cent bigger than in the original plan – Liu said Hong Kong was not short of land, considering the ratio of its surface area to population.
“You can see in satellite images of the territory there is a lot of rural land,” Liu said. “The problem lies in whether the government can take that land back.”
Rolled out earlier this month in the second Policy Address by Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the reclamation initiative of Lantau Tomorrow has sparked much controversy, prompting thousands of people to take to the streets in protest. Opponents of the plan argued that it would drain the city’s financial reserves of HK$1 trillion and was prioritising a wrong source of land supply by spurning available brownfield sites and rural lands.
Over the past few decades, nationalised land in Singapore has increased from 30 per cent of the city’s stock to 80 per cent, according to Liu.