Policy Address
20. I wish to point out that apart from the additional land resumption projects mentioned above, a steady stream of land resumption projects under the Lands Resumption Ordinance is in the pipeline. With works of Kwu Tung North/Fanling North NDAs just commencing, upcoming large-scale development projects in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen and Yuen Long South, as well as a couple of public housing and other public works projects in the pipeline, we are given to understand that about 700 hectares of private land will be resumed, of which some 400 hectares is expected to be resumed in the next five years, significantly more than the 20 hectares resumed in the past five years.
21. Apart from adhering to the current “planning before land resumption” mechanism, we will also strive to provide supporting facilities at the district level and make proper rehousing and compensation arrangements. Given the importance of public transport infrastructure to housing development, we will expedite the implementation of projects proposed in the Railway Development Strategy 2014, and invite the MTR Corporation Limited to commence detailed planning and design for the Tung Chung Line Extension, Tuen Mun South Extension and Northern Link in the coming year, so that work on these three railway projects can commence as early as possible. We hope our approach of resuming land for public housing development could gain support from various sectors of the community. Apart from expediting the planning process, we will compress the time needed for technical studies and streamline relevant procedures such as rezoning, land resumption and engineering design to enable early completion of new housing units.
