Tough landing — Hong Kong’s Land Shortage Intervention Receives No Success So Far

Written by Vienna Chan

The government’s Task Force on Land Supply estimated that Hong Kong would be short of at least 108 hectares of land for housing by 2026. Without intervention, a shortage of land may eventually translate to increased property prices and cramped living conditions. Private developers have been estimated to hold at least 1000 hectares of land in the New Territories and the government can ‘hardly control when private developers choose to release their land reserves’. Hence, Hong Kong’s Land-sharing Pilot Scheme was launched in May 2020, which aims to tap into private developer’s reserves in efforts to boost land supply. Under the scheme, owners of private farmland can increase their development density; but they must set aside at least 70% of the increased floor area for public housing. In return, the government will facilitate infrastructural improvements and speed up planning and development approvals.

So far, the Development Bureau has received no submissions for the scheme, reasons suggested include economic downturn and coronavirus pandemic which renders the scheme less attractive despite the government incentives offered. There are voices urging the government to take other approaches, such as increasing land supply by reasoning land or reclamation. Another more extreme alternative is the land resumption ordinance, which gives the government power to acquire private land for established public purposes. The government already has several reclamation projects in progress or in planning, namely the Lantau Tomorrow Vision reclamation project and reclamation outside Victoria Harbour.

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Land Sharing Pilot Scheme (LSPS)

Hong Kong developers ignore scheme to boost land supply for housing by converting private reserves in New Territories