'Govt's found enough land to meet public flat demand'
Chief Executive John Lee said on Wednesday that his government is making good progress in speeding up the provision of public housing flats. He said in his Policy Address that the public housing demand for the next 10 years is 308,000 units, and the government has already identified more than enough land to develop those flats.  Lee expects this to substantially shorten the average waiting time for public flats from the current 5.3 years to 4.5 years by 2026-2027.  The CE also said his administration will continue to introduce measures to expedite the construction of flats and boost land production to increase overall housing supply. Lee said authorities will streamline statutory and administrative procedures to expedite land resumption compensation, and speed up the approval of building plans.  He added that officials will also hasten redevelopment and step up the maintenance of aged buildings, and enhance the Urban Renewal Authority’s financial capability to cope with an anticipated increase in financing demand.  There are also plans to optimize the use of existing land, with the MTR Corporation being asked to submit proposals to revitaise the Hung Hom station and nearby sites, and officials studying the feasibility of developing the ex-Lamma Quarry site.  However, Lee said there are no plans to further develop “green belt” areas, as the government has already identified enough land for housing, industry and other developments for the coming 30 years.  Separately, the CE announced he will establish a task force on tackling subdivided flats, saying it will look at a range of issues, such as set the minimum standards of living conditions and suggest measures to eradicate substandard flats in the longer run.  The task force will present its recommendations in ten months’ time.