Give 30 per cent of development profits to land owners to ease housing shortage, Hong Kong rural leader says
Shap Pat Heung rural committee chairman Leung Fuk-yuen says this would speed up taking back of land in New Territories for building homes
The government should consider giving 30 per cent of the profits from development back to land owners to speed up land resumption in the New Territories and help ease the city’s housing shortage, a rural leader suggested on Monday.
“There are other individual land owners … The government should consider giving 30 per cent of the profits from development to them … because they provide the ‘flour’ [for the bread],” he added, citing the example of mainland Chinese cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen that had adopted such profit-sharing models to drive redevelopment.
Leung, 61, known as “Uncle McDonald” for his pompadour hairstyle, is a long-time defender of Hong Kong villagers’ interests. He has chaired the Shap Pat Heung rural committee for 14 years, which ensures him a seat on the influential Heung Yee Kuk, a government-recognised advisory group representing New Territories villagers.
The kuk consists of 27 rural committees, including the one chaired by Leung.