Housing Bureau responds to media enquiries about housing development in Fanling Area 17
In response to media enquiries about the housing development in Fanling Area 17, a spokesman for the Housing Bureau today (June 16) responded as follows:
The Housing Bureau has postponed on a temporary basis the development programme of the public housing project in Fanling Area 17 and adjusted the project’s development priority, having regard to the cost-effectiveness of various housing projects under planning. The authority stresses that it has not abandoned the project.
Based on ground investigation, the Housing Department found that the Fanling Area 17 Site has complex geology with a deep bedrock layer. It is anticipated that a longer-than-normal construction period would be required, and the cost of foundation works would be significant. The bedrock level has been found at depths exceeding 80 metres below ground in general, with the deepest recorded at 120m below ground. If the site is to be used for public housing construction, deep foundation work will be involved. Preliminary estimates of the average construction cost per unit will increase by 60 per cent to 90 per cent, and the construction period will be lengthened by at least 10 months.
Upon reviewing different housing construction projects, the Housing Department has decided to prioritise the development of other more cost-effective public housing projects in North District, including the completion of approximately 38 000 public housing units in Fanling, Sheung Shui and Kwu Tung North in the next five years (from 2025-26 to 2029-30). As regards the 8 300 units from the temporary postponement of the Fanling Area 17 public housing development project, apart from the above production in the five-year period, there will be other projects ready for completion in the second five-year period in North District, including 13 000 and 17 000 units in Fanling North and the Kwu Tung North New Development Area respectively. These developments will be expedited in order to maintain the originally scheduled completion date of the 8 300 flats in Fanling Area 17 in 2031/32.
The Housing Bureau reaffirms that the target supply of 308 000 public housing units in the next 10 years remains unchanged. The adjustment in the priority of the development on this occasion will allow the authority to focus resources on developing first the more cost-effective public housing projects in order to provide homes to those in need as soon as possible. read more