XN000022-1997-01-10 — Page 3

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Sufficient housing land will be provided

The Government is fully aware of the public's concern about housing land supply and is committed to, as we have been, providing sufficient land to meet our housing demand, the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung said.

Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Chinese Executives Club tonight (Friday), Mr Leung said the notion that the Government had not provided enough land to enable the Housing Authority to achieve our public housing programme aims was not correct.

He noted that the level of demand for public housing changed over time because of such factors as population and income growth, redevelopment and clearance programmes, prices and rents of private housing and so on, which was a constantly moving target.

"Our aim has always been to provide sufficient land to meet clearly identified public housing demand over a period and this is reviewed regularly.

"For example, when the Housing Authority adjusted income limits and eligibility criteria in 1992 and 1993, the Government promptly found 49 hectares of extra land to meet the additional demand.

"In 1995, the Government earmarked another 30 hectares of land for allocation to the Housing Authority for construction of public housing up to the year 2000-01.

"In the last five years, we have disposed of 257 hectares of land for subsidised home ownership and rental public housing.

"We also aim to make available 327 hectares of new land for subsidised home ownership and rental public housing in the next five years. A considerable portion of this land will be in areas such as North-east New Territories, Tseung Kwan O New Town and Tin Shui Wai New Town."

Mr Leung said the Government had not ignored the need to make available land for private housing.

"In the last five years, we have disposed of 145 hectares of land for private housing.