TNAG-0845-FCO40-1055-Visits-of-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 156

VISIT OF MR PETER BLAKER MP TO HONG KONG :

BRIEF NO. HK5

23-25 SEPTEMBER 1979

HOUSING

Hong Kong Government Housing Policy

1. The Hong Kong Government aims to ensure that every family has

a permanent, self-contained home at a rent it can afford. It is

calculated that to achieve this, subsidised public housing must be

provided for 65% of the population. Since 1954, when the Govern-

ment housing programme began, public housing has been built for

some 2.2 million people, about 45% of the population.

New homes

in the government sector are currently being built at the rate of

35,000 units per year, sufficient for 200,000 people. At the same

time, there is a steady improvement in standards, with more space,

better facilities and improved amenities.

2.

*

A year ago, the Governor hoped that the target of providing

public housing for 65% of the population could be met by 1985.

But with immigrants from China continuing to arrive at a rate of

over 100,000 a year, this no longer seems realistic. The problem

has been exacerbated by recent difficulties with the Hong Kong

economy, which have led to a slow-down in all Government programmes.

The housing programme has, however, been less affected than most:

expenditure on housing and the new towns will still increase by

36% in the current financial year (compared with only 13% for the

rest of the public works programme).

3. Despite this vast Government housing programme (and the fact

that in the private sector also new homes are being constructed at

over 30,000 units per annum), the waiting period for public housing

is still over seven years. There are estimated to be some 400,000

squatters living in temporary structures on land, in addition to

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