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Planning, Land and Infrastructure
In the medium to long term, the government is taking forward a number of long-term land supply projects, including the Kwu Tung North (KTN) and Fanling North (FLN) New Development Areas (NDAs), Hung Shui Kiu (HSK) NDA, Tung Chung New Town Extension, and reviewing deserted agricultural land in Yuen Long and North District. The government is also exploring the development of Lantau Island and New Territories North.
Housing Land Supply
The government announced the Long Term Housing Strategy in December, and adopted 480,000 units as the total housing supply target for the coming 10 years (ie 2015-16 to 2024-25), with public housing accounting for 60 per cent of the new production. There is, however, no easy and painless option to increase and expedite housing land supply, particularly in the short run. The community as a whole has to make hard choices and accept trade-offs to realise the goal for the good of Hong Kong.
Public housing land supply comes from new government housing sites and redevelopment of existing public housing estates. Private housing land supply comes from various sources, including government sites for private residential development disposed of through the Land Sale Programme, railway property development projects, urban renewal projects and private development or redevelopment projects. The government aims to provide adequate land for public housing and a steady and sustained land supply for private housing development.
Increasing Development Intensity
The government announced in the 2014 Policy Address that, except for the north of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, the maximum domestic plot ratios allowable for housing sites in the Main Urban Areas and New Towns would be raised generally by about 20 per cent where planning terms permit (ie taking into account relevant planning considerations such as the traffic and infrastructure capacity in the area; the neighbourhood's existing character and development intensity; and the potential environmental, visual and air ventilation impacts).
Land Use Reviews
The Planning Department has reviewed various land uses in the territory, including reviews of vacant government land, which identified some 150 potential housing sites, most of which may be made available for housing development in the five years from 2014-15 to 2018-19 to provide over 210,000 flats (over 70 per cent for public housing units), subject to timely amendments to their respective statutory plans. The government is consulting the District Councils, informing them of potential housing sites requiring plan amendments.
Commercial Land Supply
Supply of commercial space and land is essential to sustaining Hong Kong's continued economic growth. Government action to increase the supply of commercial/business sites includes reviewing industrial land, converting suitable government office buildings and government, institutional or community sites in core business districts for commercial use, providing commercial space at the new Central Harbourfront upon completion of relevant works projects and continuing with the industrial building revitalisation measures until 31 March 2016. In January 2014, the Planning Department commenced a planning and design
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