Search On For Urban Sites For Light Public Housing

Housing Secretary Winnie Ho on Thursday said that her team is working hard to find urban sites for light public housing, after complaints that the four places chosen so far are all in remote areas.

"For the remaining sites, we are working on them. The Architectural Services Department is collecting many technical information and looking at the sites and studying the sites. And we will announce the urban sites very soon before we go to the Legislative Council for the funding approval," she said.

The scheme, under which prefabricated construction will be used to quickly create short-term flats, is intended to help people facing long waits for permanent public housing.

But questions have been raised about whether the scheme can help increase supply in the long run, given light public flats are only intended for use for around five years.

After meeting residents of sub-divided flats in Sham Shui Po, Ho said architects will study the possibility of adopting a modular method for building the new flats, so they can be reused.

"Although five years is a planning reference for the short-term use of the sites, every two to four years we will review [this]. If there's a possibility that the government sites can be extended further, depending on the need for this light public housing by the time, there is potential for some of the sites to be used for a longer time," she said.

Asked about how to boost the occupancy rate at the sites in places such as Sheung Shui and Yuen Long, Ho said work is underway to ensure that there will be easy access.

"We talked about how to arrange bus stops, bus stations, near the light public housing sites. And even within the sites, maybe we can provide some drop-off points, so that people can [travel] conveniently, very conveniently for 10 to 15 minutes to major stations, or to transport interchanges," she said.