Concrete Analysis | Hong Kong needs comprehensive database for better land usage
A comprehensive database will help the government plan for appropriate per person living space to improve overall living environment
A recent report which showed as much as 142 hectares of land in Hong Kong that could be converted for temporary uses are left vacant, raising the question of whether the government is wasting land resources.
While the organisation claimed that it has arrived at this number by compiling information released by the Lands Department and available land related documents of various departments, the accuracy of such data may be questionable. But at the same time, the lack of comprehensiveness and transparency of land information from the government for the past many years also meant that it was equally difficult to verify these findings.
The issue in question therefore is, technology is needed to enhance efficiency.
The only response that the publication of this report has drawn from the Development Bureau was “it welcomes any suggestions about the use of land” and “interested groups can make enquiries from the Lands Department”. It also pointed out that over 70 per cent of short term land uses are reserved for public housing development or railway construction sites, and they should not be regarded as idle land.
Such ambiguity fails to clarify the matter and would only raise public scepticism and that the authorities are deliberately dodging the issue.
It appears that the government could only take on a low profile even in the face of what may be an amateurish investigation initiated by the community due to thelack of appropriate land use data to rely on.
It appears that the government could only take on a low profile even in the face ofwhat may be an amateurish investigation initiated by the community due to the lack of appropriate land use data to rely on