Hundreds of poor Hongkongers to lose homes in Sham Shui Po redevelopment
Urban Renewal Authority wants to redevelop warren of subdivided flats and illegal structures
Hundreds of residents, many crammed into subdivided flats and illegal structures, will have to move out if the Urban Renewal Authority goes ahead with plans to redevelop a group of Sham Shui Po tenements built nearly 60 years ago.
Many flats in the buildings, huddled cheek by jowl between Castle Peak Road and Un Chau Street, are subdivided into cubicles, and rooftop structures are common. In one, 15 people are crammed into a two-storey structure made of wood.
Announcing the HK$1.8 billion project yesterday, the authority said it hoped to improve the run-down district's living conditions through this and other projects.
"The buildings are generally in poor condition, with unauthorised building works, subdivided units and cubicle apartments," said the authority's acquisition and clearance director, Ian Wong Wai-kuen.
One owner said he was hoping for more than HK$10,000 a square foot in compensation.
The six-storey blocks, occupying 1,900 square metres, were built between 1955 and 1956. A two-month consultation period began yesterday, with the project subject to the government's final approval.
About 230 flats will be built, providing 12,000 square metres of residential floor area, plus some 2,400 square metres of commercial space if the project - expected to be completed by 2022 - goes ahead.