Multibillion-dollar funding request for Hong Kong light public housing scheme on track to secure unanimous backing from lawmakers
- Chief Executive John Lee’s administration aims to achieve an ‘all yes vote’ result to show Beijing its strong leadership and determination, analysts says
- Scheme sparked controversy when it was first mooted last December after public concern about hefty construction cost of around HK$27.4 billion
A multibillion-dollar funding request for a controversial temporary public housing scheme in Hong Kong is on track to secure unanimous backing from lawmakers on Friday despite their earlier criticism of the plan amid intense lobbying by officials.
Analysts said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s administration would aim to achieve an “all yes vote” result to show Beijing its strong leadership and determination in tackling Hong Kong’s housing problem. An opposition party official said he would not be surprised by that outcome under the city’s new political order.
A HK$14.91 billion (US$1.9 billion) funding request for building the first batch of four light public housing projects will be put to the vote at the Legislative Council’s finance committee meeting on Friday.
The four projects, supplying 17,000 flats in phases from 2024-25, include two in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun in the New Territories, and two in the urban areas of Ngau Tau Kok and Kai Tak.
The scheme, one of Lee’s pet policies, sparked controversy when it was first mooted last December after public concern about the hefty construction cost of around HK$27.4 billion. Lawmakers and residents criticised using prime urban commercial sites to build temporary public homes.
The government backed down and revised the design to save HK$1 billion and agreed to seek funding from Legco in two phases instead of a lump sum.
Some legislators who supported the project said they received supplementary information from officials this week to convince them it was a feasible scheme.