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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2020-12-03 16:00
Last update date: 2020-12-03 16:00
The Transport and Housing Bureau announced its public housing construction plan on Wednesday (2nd), stating that the authorities will build 101,300 units in the next five years, which is far less than the target set in the "Long Term Housing Strategy".
Although it takes at least ten years to build residential buildings on the "best land", there is no land available in Hong Kong. The key lies in whether the government has the determination and courage to shake up vested interest groups.
According to the information from the Transportation and Housing Bureau, the construction volume of public housing from 2020/21 to 2024/25 is 101,300 units, of which 70,500 are public housing and 30,800 are subsidized housing.
This figure is not only nearly 50,000 units less than the first five years of "Long Strategy", but how the government will catch up with the progress from 2025 to 2030 is even more of a big question.
Policy Address 2020｜Cash allowance waiting for basic public housing families from July next year
The amount of public housing construction lags behind, and the first to bear the brunt must be applicants who live in cubicles or sub-divided houses and are waiting for public housing.
At present, the average waiting time for public housing has increased to 5.6 years. Therefore, in this year’s Policy Address, the government proposed a three-year "Cash Allowance Trial Scheme", and the amount is based on half of the maximum amount of the CSSA rent allowance that took effect in July this year. One-person family is 1250 yuan, two-person family is 2,200 yuan...and so on.
Although the original intention of the government is to relieve the financial pressure of grassroots families, the number of subsidy conditions, such as waiting for public housing for more than three years and not receiving CSSA, will also greatly reduce the number of beneficiaries.
In addition, taking the subsidy of 3,000 yuan for a family of four as an example, the amount is not enough to pay a month's rent for a subdivided apartment. At best, it is better than nothing.
The style of work is partial and weak
It is true that the current severe housing shortage is the mistake of the governments of the past, but the current government’s drawback is that the illusion that distant water can save the nearby fire, and the fear of offending vested interest groups, will not dare to make good use of idle land resources.
According to the 2019 "Study on the Use and Operation of Brownfields in the New Territories", there are currently 7,373 operating brownfields in the New Territories, covering an area of approximately 1,414 hectares. Many of them first occupy government land and then require the government to grant short-term leases. For parking lots, vehicle maintenance yards and other purposes, the government not only has the initiative to develop these lands, it should also clear up chaos as soon as possible.
Just as the Land Supply Task Force submitted a report to the government after the "Land Debate", it pointed out that the government could build a land bank for brownfields, private New Territories farmland reserves, and private playground land in the short to medium term, but the government eventually turned a deaf ear to the report.
The government's frank style is not only reflected in brownfield development.
In August this year, the land lease of the Fanling Golf Course expired, and the government even decided to renew the lease of the golf course for three years and renew the rent of one yuan per year.
What is even more absurd is that on the one hand, the government emphasizes that the technical research progress of housing construction is satisfactory and expects that the site can be turned into a "prepared land" development that can be built by 2024, but on the other hand it is determined to renew the land approval until the end of 2023.
Unless the government can complete the leveling project within a few months at the "Vulcan Mountain speed" after the land is reclaimed, the project will definitely be postponed again and again, prolonging the time for the grassroots to go upstairs.
This shows that even if the authorities indicate that they fully accept the recommendations of the Land Supply Task Force, in fact they still "accept the opinions and maintain their attitude."
Although there are many causes of the housing problems in Hong Kong, it is necessary to increase housing land for a thorough cure. However, the government's proposal is either a stubborn financial aid or a "Lantau Tomorrow" that has been built for at least ten or eight years. , I don’t see any contingency plan to draw on the spot.
For example, after the authorities deliberately used Wang Chau, Yuen Long to develop 17,000 public housing units and negotiated with the rural contacts to "find out" the plan, they even drastically revised the scope of the plan and eliminated a large number of brownfield areas. Naturally, they will be questioned by the public. The squire backed down and ignored the overall interests of society.
If the government still has no resolve in the future to reorganize the complex relationship of land interests, the social and economic development of Hong Kong will also be wasted.
Why has the government been so reluctant to reopen large-scale land and build houses?
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