Hong Kong puts construction of 8,300 homes on hold in Fanling
Hong Kong's housing authorities have suspended a key public residential development in a northern town consisting of 8,300 homes due to the suspected high costs of building the flats on deep rock strata, according to a lawmaker.
The suspension of the development, including its site formation and infrastructure works, in Fanling came to light on Sunday in a document the Housing Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department submitted to the North District Council, a day before a meeting to discuss the matter on Monday.
The Fanling Area 17 site, spanning about 5.47 hectares (13.5 acres) of both government and private land, is located to the east of Ling Shan Road and Jockey Club Road, south of Ma Sik Road and west of Fan Leng Lau Road. It currently houses the Fan Garden Police Driving and Traffic Training Centre.
The document did not mention the exact reasons of the suspension but said: 'To align with the government's principle of maintaining sustainable public finances, the Housing Bureau has adjusted the development plan for the Fanling Area 17 public housing project after reviewing the cost-effectiveness of public housing initiatives over the next ten years.'
Authorities said they had 'more flexibility to prioritise sites that are more suitable and cost-effective for construction' with sufficient land supply for public housing in the next decade.
Lawmaker Edward Lau Kwok-fan, who is a member of the Legislative Council's housing panel, said the government's decision stemmed from geotechnical studies revealing unusually deep rock strata beneath the site, leading to significantly higher foundation costs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
22 minutes ago
- RTHK
Grade B and C offices 'likely to join dorms scheme'
Grade B and C offices 'likely to join dorms scheme' Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho says having more dormitories in place is a prerequisite for the SAR to attract more overseas students. File Photo: RTHK The Development Bureau said on Monday it expects private grade B and C offices will likely join a pilot scheme that allows commercial buildings and hotels to be converted into student hostels much more quickly. The bureau is proposing that the definition of hotels be expanded to cover student dormitories so that developers do not have to be put through any planning procedures should they wish to convert buildings into student hostels or construct dormitories on commercial sites. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho said having the support facilities in place is a prerequisite for the SAR to better develop its "Study in Hong Kong" brand, which was first unveiled in last year's Policy Address to attract more overseas students to study here. "The industry told us that maybe there is a higher chance of grade B and C offices joining the scheme," she said. "We also looked at some figures – these two grades of offices have a vacancy rate of only about 10 percent in the past year. "Therefore, if we have this scheme and they are willing to participate, it will allow commercial buildings that have not been fully utilised to be put to better use, and we think that's worth supporting." The government, Ho said, will leave it up to the industry to decide whether medium- and low-cost hotels will participate in the scheme. She said the SAR has sufficient hotel capacity to support tourism development for the time being. This is because the occupancy rate for the 90,000 hotel rooms in Hong Kong stands at 80 to 90 percent, Ho said, and with the change in travel patterns, travellers do not necessarily stay overnight. Under the scheme, the bureau also hopes to waive floor area requirements to offer developers greater flexibility. For instance, Ho said, they can retain the area previously used as a covered parking lot to offload goods and convert them into facilities such as laundry, study and gym rooms. She said the government has set neither a target on how many more student dormitories would be set up under the scheme nor a cap on the number of applications. Metropolitan University vice president Charles Kwong welcomes the scheme. As the bureau's development projects facilitation office will be responsible for the scheme, he said, it will save a lot of time and costs as schools no longer have to liaise with government departments one by one when they are trying to convert buildings into hostels. He believes institutions are not looking for Grade A private offices for conversion. Instead, vacant buildings located in preferred areas will be more suitable as schools can follow through with the conversion with better time control, Kwong added. The scheme will start accepting applications in the middle of next month.
South China Morning Post
32 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Japan flags 216 days of Chinese intrusions near East China Sea islands
Japan has spotted Chinese vessels sailing near disputed islets in the East China Sea for a record 216 consecutive days, according to Tokyo's coastguard. Advertisement The Tokyo-administered islets, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and Senkakus in Japan, have long been a sore point between the neighbours. On Sunday, Japan said it observed four Chinese coastguard vessels sailing in the 'contiguous' zone, referring to a 12-nautical-mile (22km) band that extends beyond Japan's territorial waters. Last year, Chinese vessels sailed near the Tokyo-administered island chain more than 350 times , including for a period of 215 consecutive days, a Japanese coastguard spokesman said. Japanese officials regularly protest against the presence of the Chinese coastguard and other vessels in the waters surrounding the disputed islands.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese banks' stock rally lights up social media as investors fear missing out
The rally in Chinese bank stocks is captivating retail investors from Hong Kong to Shanghai and Shenzhen, making it one of the hottest topics on mainland social media platforms, with many asking if it is too late to jump on the bandwagon. Benchmarks tracking Industrial & Commercial Banking Corp (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China and their peers have risen 24 per cent in Hong Kong and 17 per cent in onshore markets. The market-beating gains are even more spectacular, coming after their best returns in 16 years in 2024. The answers may be found in dividend payouts and sliding government bond yields, both of which have enticed insurance companies to allocate a bigger chunk of their assets into banking stocks, analysts said. 'Banks have been our top pick' within the financial sector since 2023, said Shujin Chen, an analyst at Jefferies. 'For banks, the most obvious and important point is that they are relatively more likely to deliver stable returns, especially the large banks.' Shares of top mainland lenders like China Construction Bank have extended gains this year. Photo: Reuters Beijing last year urged listed companies to pay dividends several times a year, in advance and before the Lunar New Year, to shore up market sentiment. Authorities also restricted major shareholders from selling their stakes if their companies do not live up to marks on payouts. Many Chinese banks took the lead, with the nation's six major state-controlled lenders last year handing out interim dividends for the first time. Some analysts said these payouts, some as high as 60 per cent, have attracted insurers searching for higher-yielding assets.
