Study on clearing Hong Kong’s brownfield sites won’t be ready for nearly two years

Top official speaks of difficulties in transforming rural areas that include businesses such as car parks and container storages to develop housing

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The brownfield site in Wang Chau, Yuen Long, at the centre of the controversy. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 9:49pm, 21 Sep 2016Updated: 10:50pm, 21 Sep 2016

A study on the feasibility of transforming brownfield sites such as sprawling container yards into land for housing is not expected to be completed until around mid-2018, a senior development official revealed on Wednesday amid the Wang Chau development saga.

The announcement came at a press conference attended by the chief executive, the financial secretary, the transport and housing minister and two senior planning and development officials. The conference was arranged after the government controversially set aside a plan to develop public housing on an environmentally damaged brownfield site in Wang Chau, Yuen Long, to prioritise developing a heavily vegetated green belt site nearby.

Although the five denied having given in to pressure from powerful rural leaders with vested interests in the brownfield site, they failed to explain why they deferred the development after village strongmen voiced their opposition but moved on with the green belt site development despite strong opposition from residents in three affected villages who will be displaced.

Speaking about the difficulties in developing brownfields, which involved clearing out businesses such as garages, car parks and container storages, the acting secretary for development, Eric Ma Siu-cheung, said the study would take the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area in Yuen Long as a test case for releasing more land for flats on brownfield sites.

Ma added that another comprehensive study on all brownfield sites across Hong Kong and their usage would start next year.