Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority looks into feasibility of redeveloping 2 old areas in Kowloon City, cites planning challenges
- Two areas in To Kwa Wan, known as ‘13 Streets’ and ‘5 Streets’, under consideration for redevelopment
- URA managing director Wai Chi-sing cites restructuring and replanning challenges in both areas, with additional safety measures needed due to nearby gas plant
Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is looking into the feasibility of redeveloping two very old areas in Kowloon City which are long overdue for regeneration, but admits various conditions have made the project challenging.
The URA revealed some updates to its plan on Sunday after being accused of ignoring these two areas and instead focusing on redeveloping another part of the district known as “Little Thailand”.
The authority in May announced it would build 4,350 flats in Kowloon City over the next 12 years in its second-largest redevelopment to date, comprising three sites with a total area of 37,000 square metres (398,265 sq ft).
The project is expected to produce a fivefold increase in the overall number of flats in the neighbourhood once it is completed in 2036-37.
In a blog post published on Sunday, URA managing director Wai Chi-sing said the authority had started work on the feasibility of redeveloping the two areas in To Kwa Wan known as “13 Streets” and “5 Streets”, while noting the numerous challenges it faced.
The “13 Streets” refers to hundreds of old and dilapidated buildings across 13 parallel streets in To Kwa Wan. The “5 Streets” is located beside it and consists of similar types of infrastructure.
“According to some [residents], the building conditions and living environment of these huge complexes are not good, and the URA should deal with them as soon as possible. I understand this very well,” he said.
“However, some people do not have a precise understanding of the difficulty of dealing with such huge old buildings.”