'Changing land use due to failed tender too hasty'
Changing the land use of a plot should not be the immediate response to an unsuccessful tender, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said on Sunday.  This month, the government rejected all four bids for a residential site in Tung Chung, saying the tendered premium did not meet the reserve price for the site. Separately, the MTR Corporation did not receive any bids for a property development near a new station in Tung Chung. Speaking after a radio programme, the development minister said recent unsuccessful tenders were largely because of the local and global economic situations.  Linn said adjustments in the tendering conditions could be made when a plot of land is put up for sale again after a failed tender, but stressed that a change in its land use would not be an immediate option. "We should not run into knee-jerk reactions because the land uses for different parcels of land are premised on comprehensive planning and known demand. So if we change it too readily, it will upset the balance of the different land uses we have in mind," she told reporters.  Linn also said failed tenders will not affect the government's effort to find land for development. "We have to be determined to roll out the different sources of land supply if we are to meet the demands of land for Hong Kong's development," she said. On the administration's goal of starting land-resumption procedures for all projects under the Northern Metropolis by 2027, Linn said: "Actually, we have commenced the resumption of land for different land parcels, for example those in Hung Shui Kiu, in Kwu Tung North, quite some years ago.  "Our pledge is the commence for the rest of the development areas by 2027." The development chief said the government is processing seven eligible applications from private landowners under the land exchange arrangement for the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Area, adding that authorities would take back the sites after the December 31 deadline if no agreements were reached by then.