12
Planning, Land and Infrastructure
The supply of new developable land through reclamation and site formation and different types of properties has slowed down significantly over the past decade despite the continued growth in population, number of households and gross domestic product.
There is a need to increase land supply to support Hong Kong's sustainable development. The government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to increase land supply in the short, medium and long term, through the continued and systematic implementation of land supply measures in the following areas:
• increase development intensity of developable land: mainly by increasing the development intensity of individual housing sites by up to 20 per cent where planning terms permit, and lifting development restrictions on specific areas where it is considered justified and acceptable to do so;
•
change use of existing land and convert reserved sites: mainly by conducting land use reviews of existing land, such as government sites and green belt, to identify potential sites suitable for housing, economic and other development needs, and to initiate change of their uses, and by converting reserved sites with no development plan or for which the original purpose is no longer pursued for other suitable uses where planning terms permit;
facilitate/expedite development/redevelopment on existing land: mainly by expediting railway property development projects and urban renewal projects, streamlining development processes and introducing new measures, such as the Pilot Scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium, to facilitate private development/redevelopment;
⚫ take forward major land development projects: mainly by taking forward planning and engineering studies and works for comprehensive development of new development areas and new town extensions, including the conversion of brownfield sites and squatter areas in the rural New Territories for high-density development; and
•
⚫ explore new sources of developable land/space: mainly by conducting studies to explore new modes or sources of providing developable land/space, including reclamation outside Victoria Harbour.
In the short to medium term, the most immediate and effective way to augment land supply is to make more optimal use of developed areas in urban areas and new towns, and land in the vicinity of existing infrastructure, through appropriately increasing the development intensity of developable land, changing land use, converting reserved sites, and facilitating and expediting development and redevelopment on existing land, where planning terms permit.
In the medium to long term, the government is taking forward a number of 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 development of former quarry sites, and reviewing brownfield sites and deserted agricultural land in the New Territories. The government is also exploring the development of Lantau and New Territories
185