More Money, Rehousing Options For People Displaced

The government has announced a sweeping overhaul of its system for compensating people and businesses displaced by public projects – as it continues to scramble to find more land to satisfy the city's housing shortage.

It's abandoning its old system of offering cash or housing compensation on a project-by-project basis, adopting a one-size-fits-all model that will see eligible residents given more rehousing options without having to go through a means test.

Cash compensation packages for those who aren't eligible for rehousing will rise sharply – to double the current compensation amount in some cases, up to HK$1.2 million.

Development Secretary Michael Wong said this new arrangement will cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming years.

But he denied that having to accommodate more people displaced by public projects would mean that queues for subsidised housing would get even longer.

He said he believes the more generous cash compensation now on offer will reduce resistance to the government's land resumption exercises, which would, in turn, speed up the development of new towns and new public housing.

"The impact is 100 percent positive because we can, through this exercise, make our current exercise smoother, so that our new units can be delivered on time. The positive impact will far outweigh any negative consideration," he said.