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The 2008-09 Applications List comprises 62 sites - 15 more than 2007-08 - with a total land area of 60 hectares, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam says. The list takes immediate effect, offering 42 residential, 10 commercial and 10 hotel-only sites of various sizes.
Of the 62 sites, 36 are rolled over from the 2007-08 Application List and 26 are new sites. Depending on the design of the actual developments, up to 13,500 flats could be produced on the residential sites, a total gross floor area of over 490,000 square metres on the business sites, and up to 11,000 hotel rooms on the hotel-only sites.
The 10 hotel-only sites, ranging from 0.26 of a hectare to 1.79 hectares, include seven rolled-over sites in Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong, Tin Shui Wai, Sai Kung town, Tsuen Wan and the ex-Government Supplies Depot on Oil Street in North Point, and three new sites on the Hung Hom Bay reclamation, 373 Queen's Road East and the western part of the former North Point Estate.
Of the 42 residential sites 21 are new ones, with one in Stanley, two in Peng Chau, two in Sai Kung, two on Lantau, two in Kowloon Tong, one in Tseung Kwan O, six in Kau To in Sha Tin, two in Tai Po, one in Yuen Long, as well as the former Ho Man Tin Police Quarters and 16.4-hectare Queen's Hill in Fanling.
The 10 commercial sites include two new ones on Chung Kong Road adjacent to the Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan and on the Hung Hom Bay reclamation. To read the Application List, click here.
Hotel-only sites
Unveiling the 2008-09 Application List at a press conference today Mrs Lam said the list offers a mix of different sizes and types of sites and locations, with hotel-only sites making their debut to facilitate hotel developments and maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness in tourism and exhibition and convention services.
Sale conditions for these sites will stipulate they can only be used for hotel development. The assessment of the reserve prices for these sites to be triggered for auction or to be sold will be based on the hotel development's open market value.
"We trust this arrangement will help increase the supply of hotels to meet market demand and enable us to compare well with neighbouring cities in terms of hotel accommodation," Mrs Lam said.
The move will not affect the supply of commercial sites, adding all nine sites on the 2007-08 Application List sold are residential ones.
The arrangement has been introduced on a pilot basis. The bureau will consider in light of market response whether sites should continue to be sold for hotel-only in 2009-10.
Development parameters
Mrs Lam said the Government has scrutinised each site to be sold carefully and will specify in the conditions for sale development parameters like building height limits and maximum gross floor area or plot ratio. Air ventilation assessments have been or are being conducted for 10 sites and appropriate development restrictions arising from such assessments will be incorporated in the sale conditions.
For some of the sites, where applicable, site coverage limits or non-building areas will also be prescribed.
"We hope all these measures will help address the community's rising concerns over development density and promote a quality living environment for Hong Kong people," she added.
Private housing
On land supply for private housing, Mrs Lam said apart from the Application List, developers can buy land from the private market, acquire existing properties for consolidated redevelopment, convert the sites they have in hand to residential or commercial use by lease modifications, and partake in Mass Transit Railway and Urban Renewal Authority development projects.
"In the next few years, there will be a considerable supply of 65,000 units in the primary private housing market. These include 10,000 unsold units of completed projects, 45,000 units which are under construction but not yet sold or offered for sale, and 10,000 units from the disposed land of which construction has yet to start."
Noting the Application List system is a market driven mechanism and has been working well since its launch in 2004, Mrs Lam said the Government has no plan to reintroduce scheduled land auctions.
She said land demand and supply will be monitored and land will be made available for residential use.
On the relocation of three Wan Chai government office buildings, Mrs Lam said this concept will be explored and expected the relocation, if implemented, will take up to seven years to complete.
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