If Hong Kong wants more space, we need to find more land

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The government’s latest plan says the city needs to find 1,200 hectares of land if we want to make Hong Kong a more liveable place

By staff writer |
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Hong Kong will need to find – or reclaim – a lot of land to house everyone and boost the economy after 2030. The government’s latest plan says the city needs to find 1,200 hectares of land to develop. Brownfield sites – old farm land occupied by things like car parks, storage containers and recycling yards – have been targeted under the plan. The government was given the advice by Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po.

The 2030 Plus plan outlines the city’s planning and development beyond 2030. The blueprint for this plan suggests building two new towns in the northern New Territories and on reclaimed land off Lantau Island. That would be 1,720 hectares. This means they would hit the target of 1,200 hectares.

A panel of 15 experts gave advice to the blueprint. It described the city after 2030 as a more liveable place with larger flats, more public space to relax, a bike- and pedestrian-friendly transport system, and country parks protected from development.

Chan said the idea behind the strategy is to create more liveable space for people.

“With enough land, living conditions can be improved. If we do not massively increase land supply, it will be very difficult to improve the living area per person,” said Chan.

It is said that the plan is to help people living in ageing buildings to move to these new towns. It highlighted that by 2046, there will be 326,000 flats that are 70 years old or older.

The latest figures suggest the city’s population will be at its highest in 2043. By then, officials expect there will be 8.22 million people living in Hong Kong. The population is then expected to drop to 7.81 million by 2064.

Chan also said the government was “very determined” to develop brownfield sites, but country parks wouldn’t be touched.

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