12,000 flats proposed for Hong Kong golf course site will be ‘surplus’ to estimated demand, planning official says
- Government has identified sufficient land to build about 360,000 public flats in the coming decade to meet estimated demand of 301,000 homes
- But district planning officer tells hearing government has yet to take back all the land it needs and that housing proposal will go ahead
Public housing proposed for part of Hong Kong’s oldest golf course will be surplus to estimated demand for flats, a senior planning official has revealed, while underscoring the government’s determination to press on with the controversial scheme.
District Planning Officer Anthony Luk Kwok-on said on Monday that the proposed 12,000 flats earmarked for a section of the exclusive Fanling golf course to be returned to the government would be among 59,000 homes to be built that were “surplus” to estimated demand in the coming decade.
“We cannot easily give up on any housing options within the decade just because we reach the target.”
The government has identified sufficient land to build about 360,000 public rental flats in the coming decade to meet an estimated demand of 301,000 homes. That means the government will have a surplus of 59,000 flats.
Luk, from the Planning Department, said scheduled housing projects could need more time because of construction delays and the process of taking back land.