WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1983
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TEMPORARY HOUSING PRIORITIES EXPLAINED
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PRIORITY FOR THE LIMITED ACCOMMODATION IN URBAN TEMPORARY HOUSING AREAS IS GIVEN TO PERSONS DISPLACED BY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT CLEARANCES WHO ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR PERMANENT PUBLIC HOUSING.
THIS WAS STATED BY THE SECRETARY FOR HOUSING, THE HON DONALD LIAO, IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY, IN REPLY TO A QUESTION BY REV THE HON JOYCE BENNETT.
SPARE CAPACITY OVER AND ABOVE THE REQUIREMENTS OF DEVELOPMENT CLEARANCES, IF ANY, MIGHT BE ALLOCATED TO LONGER-TERM RESIDENTS FROM THE EMERGENCY CATEGORIES, HE SAID.
+ONLY RELATIVELY FEW THA'S WILL IN FUTURE BE BUILT IN THE URBAN AREA AND MOST FUTURE THA'S WILL BE IN THE NEW TERRITORIES,+ HE SAID.
REFERRING TO THE NEW THA AT KOWLOON BAY WITH CAPACITY FOR ABOUT 7 000 PERSONS, MR LIAO SAID SOME 2 700 PEOPLE HAD ALREADY BEEN ALLOCATED SPACE THERE FROM CLEARANCES IN KOWLOON IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS.
+THE REMAINING ACCOMMODATION AT THIS THA IS COMMITTED FOR DEVELOPMENT CLEARANCES SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
+ IT IS ESTIMATED THAT MORE THAN 12 000 PEOPLE AFFECTED BY PLANNED CLEARANCES ON HONG KONG ISLAND AND IN KOWLOON THIS YEAR WILL REQUIRE TEMPORARY HOUSING IN THE URBAN AREA. +
IN REPLY TO A SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION BY THE REV JOYCE BENNETT, MR LIAO SAID THERE IS NO UNCOMMITTED SPACE IN THE URBAN THA'S.
IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, SOME 34 000 PERSONS HAVE BEEN MADE HOMELESS BY FIRES IN SQUATTER AREAS.
OF THESE, ABOUT TWO THIRDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REHOUSED, THE MAJORITY OF THEM IN THA'S IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, HE SAID.
THE OUTSTANDING REHOUSING COMMITMENT IS ABOUT 11 000 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THOSE LIVING IN KOWLOON BAY TRANSIT CENTRE, MR LIAO REPORTED.
+THESE ARE ALL PERSONS WITH LESS THAN SEVEN YEARS RESIDENCE IN HONG KONG AND ARE, THEREFORE, ONLY ELIGIBLE FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING.
+THE ONLY TEMPORARY HOUSING AVAILABLE FOR THIS LARGE NUMBER OF PERSONS IS AT SHUEN WAN IN TAI PO, YICK YUEN IN YUEN LONG AND TUEN MUN, HE POINTED OUT.
IN ANOTHER SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION, THE REV, JOYCE BENNETT ASKED WHETHER THERE IS ANY REASON WHY THOSE KOWLOON BAY RESIDENTS' REQUEST FOR REHOUSING IN SHA TIN AND TSUEN WAN COULD NOT BE MET.
IN REPLY, MR LIAO SAID THAT ALL TEMPORARY HOUSING UNITS IN THESE TWO DISTRICTS ARE EITHER OCCUPIED OR ALREADY COMMITTED FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CLEARANCES.
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