
Hong Kong balances public housing targets with cost-saving measures amid review
Advertisement
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin assured in an exclusive interview with the Post that the project review would not jeopardise the overall target of supplying 308,000 public flats in the next decade, as any reduction in homes from postponed projects will be offset by an increase from other developments.
'For each of the projects [with more technical challenges] postponed, I must ask my colleagues whether there is something that can be fast-tracked. We cannot postpone everything, or we will lose the target,' she said.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to cut the waiting time for a public rental home from the current 5.3 years to 4.5 years by 2026-27, prioritising improvements to the city's standard of living.
Given the financial difficulties faced by the city's largest public housing provider, the Housing Authority, coupled with the administration's substantial financial deficit and a subdued property market, authorities are now intensifying efforts to lower public housing construction costs.
Advertisement
Last month, the government postponed an 8,300-flat public housing estate in Fanling, New Territories. Instead, it prioritised other 'more cost-effective' projects in and around the area, which are expected to yield 38,000 homes.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong urged to make itself ‘truly the world's green financial centre'
Hong Kong is poised to play an invaluable role in sustainable development by capitalising on its strengths in green finance given mainland China's status as a leader in advanced green technologies, a top American economist has said. Advertisement Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor and director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, also said on Thursday that the Greater Bay Area was superior to Silicon Valley. Beijing should also speed up the internationalisation of the renminbi, he said. 'The role of Hong Kong in sustainable development is becoming central for the whole world,' Sachs said at an event hosted by the newly formed Hong Kong Association for External Friendship, a non-governmental organisation. The UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by all of its member states in 2015, are a set of 17 global targets aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all by 2030. Sachs said China had a unique role to play in driving sustainable development as it was the world's largest industrial nation and the 'lowest-cost producer' of advanced green and digital technology. Advertisement Hong Kong's role, in turn, was to provide the financing needed and serve as a bridge that connected the world through bond issuances, listings and finding business partners.


South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong authorities may appeal court ruling on opposite-sex public toilet use
Hong Kong authorities have said they will consider appealing against the court's decision to uphold a transgender man's legal challenge against a ban on people using some public toilets designated for the opposite sex. Advertisement A spokesman for the Environment and Ecology Bureau said on Tuesday that the government was studying the judgment handed down the day before and seeking legal opinions, while considering mounting an appeal. 'The establishment of sex-segregated public toilets under the Public Conveniences (Conduct and Behaviour) Regulation aims to protect the privacy and safety of the public when using public toilets, and to reflect social norms and expectations,' the spokesman said. 'This arrangement has been widely accepted by society.' The bureau also reminded residents that they must continue to use public toilets based on the principle of segregation of the sexes at present to avoid running afoul of the law. Advertisement At the centre of contention was the landmark ruling handed down by the High Court that upheld an anonymous litigant's claim that the government violated its constitutional duty to safeguard residents' fundamental rights by criminalising the misuse of public restrooms managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department at the expense of the transgender community. The Public Conveniences (Conduct and Behaviour) Regulation, which governs the use of public lavatories managed by the department, bars anyone aged five or above from such facilities allocated to their opposite sex. Offenders can face a fine of up to HK$2,000 (US$255).


South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Aggressive Construction loses 3 public housing contracts to new firm
Hong Kong's housing authorities have awarded contracts for the building of three public estates originally under Aggressive Construction Company, a firm linked to five workplace deaths in recent years, to a new contractor. Advertisement China Overseas Building Construction was announced as the replacement on Thursday after Aggressive was removed from the government's registered list of contractors in May due to safety violations, including a 2022 crane collapse that killed three workers. The Housing Authority, the city's largest public housing builder, subsequently terminated the three housing contracts originally managed by Aggressive. The three affected projects are the underground link of the Pak Tin Estate redevelopment phase 10, the development of about 1,000 public housing flats at Tuen Mun Area 29 West, and about 5,200 homes at Tung Chung Area 100. 'The remaining works will be taken up by China Overseas Building Construction Limited,' the Housing Authority said on Thursday, adding the decision was approved by its building committee and tender committee. Advertisement In addition to the collapse of a crane tower, Aggressive was also linked to a fatal industrial accident in 2020 at a Kowloon Bay construction site, where a worker was electrocuted.