Lawmakers raise questions over relocation in Hong Kong government’s plan to redevelop brownfield sites in New Territories for public housing
- Permanent Secretary for development Bernadette Linn says 450 hectares (1,112 acre) of brownfield land in New Territories can be transformed for public housing
- But lawmakers across the board doubt whether proper resettlement packages will be given to the businesses existing at those sites
Lawmakers have raised questions over technical problems in relocating industrial operators from 450 hectares (1,112 acres) of brownfield sites in northern New Territories which the Hong Kong government plans to redevelop for public housing.
At the Legislative Council’s development panel meeting on Tuesday, lawmakers grilled officials over the uncertainty surrounding the brownfield plan, as the latter unveiled details on the progress of the study.
While the long-drawn-out process to source land for public housing from brownfield sites is open to question, latest data shows the government is also struggling to meet the short-term target of housing supply. On Monday, the Housing Authority forecast 100,700 public-sector flats would be completed in the coming five years, reaching only about 64 per cent of the target.
In her policy address last month, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor proposed resumption of brownfield sites – abandoned agricultural land occupied for industrial, storage, logistics, and parking uses – as one of the ways to source more land for public housings.
All the land measures Lam announced – including the brownfield site redevelopment project, a massive reclamation project, and a “land-sharing” scheme that seeks to unlock a rural land bank owned by private developers – are facing uncertainties.