Hong Kong developers raise concerns over plan to build 10,700 temporary public flats in prime urban site, cast doubt on Kai Tak’s ability to handle new residents
- Association representing real estate developers says it only learned about government’s plan recently and has received letters from concerned residents
- According to government source, flats ‘will not obstruct’ original vision of turning Kai Tak into business hub
Hong Kong developers and a lawmaker have raised concerns about the government’s plan to build 10,700 temporary public flats on a commercial plot in a prime urban site at Kai Tak, casting doubt on the area’s ability to cope with an influx of new residents.
An association representing the city’s real estate developers on Tuesday said it would accept the government’s plan for “light public housing” as long as the arrangement was only for a short period.
“Hong Kong in fact is in need [of more housing], and we think we can compromise,” said Stewart Leung Chi-kin, the executive committee chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association. “The most important thing is to address the traffic problem.”
The group only learned of the project recently from the media and had received letters from concerned residents, he added.
The 5.7 hectare (14 acre) site in Kai Tak, which the government has earmarked as a new business hub in the long run, is among eight plots selected by authorities for 30,000 temporary flats.
The project aims to provide a short-term housing solution for residents who have been on the waiting list for subsidised homes for at least three years.
A government source said building 10,700 temporary homes at the former airport “would not obstruct” the original vision of turning the area into a business hub.
Out of the 30,000 flats, 7,400 homes in four other areas will be available in 2025, while the remaining 22,600 – including those at the Kai Tak site – will be completed in 2026. They are expected to remain in place for at least five years.
‘30,000 temporary public flats to be built on 8 sites over 5 years in Hong Kong’
Leung explained that transport links in Kai Tak, particularly ones leading to existing upscale residential developments and hotels along the former runway, have been a long-standing concern since the government scrapped proposal for a monorail in 2020.
He said developers were worried that the wave of new residents would overwhelm the Kai Tak MTR station, but he added officials had assured him that many would take buses and the transport issue would be resolved.
Leung said developers were especially concerned about the future of a community isolation facility for Covid-19 patients located near the cruise terminal.
With 2,100 units, the Kai Tak facility began operations in August last year and currently has a mock-up flat for the light public housing scheme.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said the isolation and treatment centres built for the coronavirus pandemic may be dismantled or repurposed after a review.
The Housing Bureau earlier said they were open to the idea of turning the centres into light public housing units.
Leung predicted developers would make “a lot of noise” if the facility in Kai Tak was repurposed. They feared doing so would clash with the area’s positioning as an upmarket residential area and undermine its appeal to land bidders.
“Repurposing that facility will ruin the entire Kai Tak area,” he said. “The government must stick to the plan it had previously envisioned.”
Legislator Kitson Yang Wing-kit, a Kowloon City district councillor, said he planned to stage a rally on February 11 to oppose the Kai Tak proposal. He predicted the project would cast a shadow over the area’s positioning as a new core business district.
HK$780 rent for new Hong Kong public flats; 10,000 homes to be built in Kai Tak
The government source said community leaders would be consulted, adding the Kai Tak site did not adjoin any private residential developments and that neighbours would benefit from the amenities provided on the ground floor of the light public housing blocks.
The source on Tuesday confirmed it would cost HK$2.5 billion (US$319 million) to operate and maintain the scheme’s 30,000 units for five years. The amount is in addition to the HK$26.4 billion construction cost announced earlier.
The source said operations would be outsourced to non-governmental organisations and property management companies.
The government will make a HK$14.9 billion funding request at a meeting of the Public Works Subcommittee on February 8. A second funding request is expected to be made for the scheme before the second quarter of 2024.
