Light public housing plan clears first Legco hurdle
The government's funding bid for building light public flats cleared its first hurdle in the legislature on Wednesday.  The administration is asking for almost HK$15 billion to build the first 17,000 of 30,000 flats planned at eight sites across the territory. All but one lawmaker present at a public works subcommittee meeting supported the application. The councillors agreed to have the item submitted to the Finance Committee for further discussion. Some members said they would like the authorities to further reduce the cost of the projects if possible. Michael Lee from the Liberal Party asked whether the government could re-use the housing modules elsewhere after the temporary homes have served their purpose. Housing chief Winnie Ho said officials will consider whether they can be used as hostels in future. "We could of course monitor the development in the community, perhaps as Mr Lee suggested, there will be many construction sites in the Northern Metropolis, can we use the units again for hostels?... In the sixth or seventh year we will see what the arrangement could be," she said. Ho also pledged that a site in Kai Tak will only be used for light public housing for seven years, including the construction period, after some residents of the district complained about the plan. However, lawmaker Kitson Yang, who's also a Kowloon City district councillor, said some Kai Tak residents don't believe the authorities will be able to fulfil this pledge and are worried there will be traffic jams in the area.