Wheelock to loan three plots of land at HK$1 each to NGOs for 2,000 ‘transitional’ homes to ease housing crisis
- The developer offers to lease 500,000 sq ft of land to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and Lok Sin Tong charity for token sum
- The sites could provide temporary homes for families on the waiting list for public housing as developer denies any pressure from outsiders
Wheelock Properties has become the third Hong Kong developer to volunteer to ease the housing crisis in the city, offering to loan less than a tenth of its land bank for a token sum to accommodate more than 6,000 families.
The developer said it will loan three plots of land, with a total area of 500,000 square feet for just HK$1 each, to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and the Lok Sin Tong charity, for eight years. The parcels are located near Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tuen Mun and Tung Chung.
The three plots can provide about 2,000 “transitional” homes for more than 6,000 families, or about 20,000 people, that are on the waiting list for affordable public housing. The company is thus giving up the use of about 7 per cent of its land bank, according to company data.
“The housing shortage is the most pressing issue in Hong Kong,” said Stewart Leung, chairman of Wheelock Properties. “In October, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced [the government] would provide 10,000 units over the next three years.”
The gesture isn’t in response to criticisms levelled against the city’s developers by mainland Chinese news outlet earlier this quarter, during the height of anti-government protests, Leung said. Its offer follows discussion on various means of cooperation with the city’s government, he added.
“[It has] nothing to do with Beijing’s politics,” Leung said. “At this time, the government has such a need, we try our best to help. Eight years is not a short time. After eight years, the implementation of the government’s housing policies will be more appropriate.”