ENG-1994 — Page 246

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HOUSING

THE battle against spiralling property prices in the private sector dominated the housing arena in 1994.

In March, the Governor, Mr Christopher Patten, announced that the increasing property prices constituted the leading domestic issue on his agenda.

In response to public opinion that private residential property prices had risen beyond the reach of average households, an inter-departmental task force was established to look into the problem.

In June, the task force issued its report and a package of measures was announced to increase the housing supply and dampen speculation. The measures resulted in a cooling of the market.

A Secretary for Housing, with overall responsibility for private and public housing matters in Hong Kong, was also appointed in December.

An inter-departmental Working Group on Housing Demand, chaired by the Planning Department, is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of housing demand. In the light of the working group's findings, the government will identify and allocate sufficient housing sites to meet the assessed demand.

The government will continue to monitor the property market. It is firmly committed to providing sufficient land for housing development, both private and public, to ensure a steady supply of housing to meet the needs of the community.

In 1994, the task force alone identified 120 hectares of land which are potentially suitable for housing development.

These are in addition to the provisions contained in the existing five-year land disposal programme.

Meanwhile, the public housing programme, for which the Hong Kong Housing Authority is responsible, was well on the way to achieving its objective of providing homes by the turn of the century for all those in need.

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Over three million people - half the population now benefit from subsidised public housing in some 879 000 flats in 290 estates throughout the territory. Some 2.5 million live in 685 000 rental units while some 593 000 live in purchased public flats.

In May, the government announced proposals for new financial arrangements with the Housing Authority, aimed at enabling the authority to make better use of its surplus cash to speed up the supply of public housing and upgrade its existing estates. A development fund

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