The Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, today (February 28) announced the Government's 2019-20 Land Sale Programme.
"The 2019-20 Land Sale Programme comprises 15 residential sites capable of providing about 8 850 flats, and seven commercial/hotel sites which can provide about 814 600 square metres of gross floor area, including gross floor area capable of providing a maximum of about 2 900 hotel rooms," Mr Wong said.
Among the 15 residential sites included in the 2019-20 Land Sale Programme, eight are rolled over from the 2018-19 Land Sale Programme, capable of providing about 6 180 flats in total, and the remaining seven sites have a capacity to provide about 2 670 flats.
Apart from the 15 sites for sale, railway property development projects will also continue to contribute to private housing land supply in 2019-20. The property development projects owned by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) at Wong Chuk Hang Station and LOHAS Park are estimated to provide a total of some 2 650 flats.
"Taking also into consideration the land supply from the projects of the MTRCL and the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), as well as private development/redevelopment projects, the total potential private housing land supply in 2019-20 is estimated to have a capacity to produce about 15 540 flats," Mr Wong said.
By comparison, in 2018-19, it is estimated that a total of 13 residential sites will have been sold or put up for sale by the end of the financial year. These 13 sites have a total capacity to produce about 6 460 flats. The aggregate private housing land supply in 2018-19 from different sources, including the sale of government sites, railway property development projects, projects of the URA and private development/redevelopment projects, is estimated to have a capacity to produce about 14 540 flats.
Pursuant to the announcement by the Government in December 2018, the housing supply target for the coming 10 years is 450 000 units, and the public/private housing split was revised from 60:40 to 70:30. Correspondingly, the 2019-20 target for private housing land supply from various sources is 13 500 flats.
Mr Wong noted that the actual supply of private housing land for 2019-20 will depend on various factors, including the readiness for sale of government sites upon timely completion of relevant procedures/proceedings, the implementation progress of railway property development and the URA's projects, and the progress of developers' private development/redevelopment projects including their initiative to conclude lease modifications/land exchange.
"Seven commercial/hotel sites located at prime sites or major business districts are included in the 2019-20 Land Sale Programme. The potential supply of about 814 600 square metres of gross floor area would be the highest in the recent years. This shows our continued efforts to increase the supply of commercial floor area to meet the economic development needs of Hong Kong," Mr Wong said.
Amongst the seven commercial/hotel sites, one of them is the topside of Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. Capable of providing about 294 000 square metres of gross floor area, this is the largest commercial site put up for sale by the Government in recent years.
For the first quarter of 2019-20, i.e. April to June 2019, the Government will tender two residential sites in Kai Tak which are capable of providing about 2 100 flats in total. Together with the supply from private development/redevelopment projects, the private housing land supply in the first quarter of 2019-20 is expected to have a capacity to produce about 2 400 flats.
Apart from residential sites, the Government will put up for sale in the first quarter of 2019-20 one commercial/hotel site adjoining the Kai Tak Sports Park of approximately 32 000 square meters of gross floor area. The successful bidder of this site will be required to provide a specified amount of floor area for hotel use, which is estimated to provide about 300 hotel rooms.
Mr Wong said that the Government is firmly committed to sustaining a steady land supply through a multi-pronged approach to meet the housing and socio-economic development needs of the community.
"The Government will follow the established practice to announce in advance the quarterly land sale programme to provide transparency and certainty to the market. We may put up additional sites for sale in the course of the quarter depending on the situation in order to flexibly respond to changing market conditions," he added.
The 2019-20 Land Sale Programme can be found on the Lands Department's website (www.landsd.gov.hk).
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