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Vivian Au

Hong Kong housing authorities have revealed that a now-suspended plan to build 8,300 public flats in a northern town will face higher costs of up to 90 per cent for each home and require an extra 10 months to complete if it goes ahead.
The Housing Bureau said on Monday that the postponement was prompted by its investigation that found the site had “complex geology with a deep bedrock layer”.
“The authority stresses that it has not abandoned the project,” the bureau said.
It added that geological issues were expected to bring a longer-than-normal construction period and significant costs for foundation works.
The bedrock level had been found at depths exceeding 80 metres (262 feet) below ground in general, with the deepest recorded at 120 metres.
Deep foundation work would be involved if the site were to be used to build public housing, the bureau said.
The suspension of the Fanling development, including site formation and infrastructure works, was revealed in a document the Housing Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department submitted to the North District Council last week for a meeting on Monday.
According to the paper, the Fanling Area 17 site, spanning about 5.47 hectares (13.5 acres) of both government and private land, is located to the east of Ling Shan Road and Jockey Club Road, south of Ma Sik Road and west of Fan Leng Lau Road. It currently houses the Fan Garden Police Driving and Traffic Training Centre.
District councillors attending the Monday meeting supported the suspension decision, as they had expressed doubts about continuing to build public housing on the site.
“If we continue to build flats, how much will the cost increase?” North district councillor Ng Yiu-cho said.
In response, Housing Department senior architect Wong Shiu-tao, said: “The estimated cost for each flat would be higher than normal by 60 to 90 per cent.”
He added that it required an additional 10 months of building time.
The development plan’s zoning outline draft for Fanling Area 17 was approved by authorities in December 2022.


The Housing Department originally intended to construct eight residential towers, each 45 to 50 storeys high, providing about 8,300 flats for an estimated 22,410 people. The project was slated for completion in the 2031-32 financial year.
The bureau said that the Housing Department had decided to prioritise the development of other, more cost-effective estates in North district – including 38,000 public housing flats in Fanling, Sheung Shui and Kwu Tung North – over the next five years.
It added other projects would be ready for completion in the second five-year period in North district, and they would be expedited to maintain the originally scheduled completion date of the 8,300 flats in Fanling Area 17 in 2031-32.
The Housing Bureau reaffirmed that the target supply of 308,000 public housing flats in the next 10 years remained unchanged.
The average waiting time for a Hong Kong public rental flat was 5.3 years in the first quarter of 2025.


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Housing Bureau also says it expects an extra 10 months of construction due to site’s ‘complex geology’


Housing Bureau also says it expects an extra 10 months of construction due to site’s ‘complex geology’.


Hong Kong’s shelved plan for 8,300 public flats to face 90% higher cost per home

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Housing Bureau also says it expects an extra 10 months of construction due to site’s ‘complex geology’

Housing Bureau also says it expects an extra 10 months of construction due to site’s ‘complex geology’