The Housing Authority has approved a special exercise in which surplus Home Ownership Scheme flats will be sold to households affected by the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

As a one-off special arrangement a qualified household can buy a New Territories surplus flat on green-form status according to the flat selection priority to be decided by the Transport & Housing Bureau.

About 400 surplus New Territories flats ranging from 19 to 61 square metres in saleable area will be offered for sale in April in this special exercise. They are located in Tseung Kwan O, Ma On Shan, Tin Shui Wai and Fanling.

Under very special circumstances, such as enabling an elderly person to be taken care of by relatives, the Secretary for Transport & Housing in consultation with an inter-departmental advisory panel can allow the household to buy a surplus HOS flat in other districts on compassionate grounds.

This one-off approval will not apply to squatters or other residents of temporary structures who may be affected by any other land resumptions and clearances.

About 150 households in Choi Yuen Tsuen, Shek Kong, and 10 others elsewhere are affected by land clearance to make way for the rail project. The Government earlier approved a special ex-gratia rehousing package for the affected households, which included an option to allow a qualified household to buy a New Territories surplus HOS flat.