Land Supply Boost To Make HK Competitive: John Lee

Hong Kong needs to find sufficient land for its housing needs and economic development so it can be better than other places, Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday.

"It's not about competing with ourselves, it's about competing with the rest of the world. We need to do better than others," he told reporters before going into this week's Executive Council meeting.

"There are many factors, one factor is whether we have sufficient land for commercial and economic development."

The remarks came in response to a call by Executive Council convenor and New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip for the Northern Metropolis project to be given priority over the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands plan, due to limited resources.

Lee said both projects will continue, adding that people must "look far ahead" and have a broader perspective.

"Over the years, because of limitations in land supply, it's actually become a bottleneck for us to be competitive. We need to compete, we need to improve the housing condition, we need to have sufficient land for commercial purposes," he said.