Hong Kong to explore ‘all options’ on land supply, including use of green belts, John Lee says as environment chief points to development balance
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Hong Kong’s leader has said he will explore all land supply options to ease the city’s housing crunch, including using green belt zones, with the environmental secretary adding authorities will seek to strike a new balance between urban development and ecological conservation.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan were on Saturday responding to a suggestion by the finance minister on developing housing in the peripheries of the city’s cherished country parks to build more flats for aspiring homeowners.
“My view is that currently, we already have different policies under consideration in boosting land supply, including using green belts, public-private cooperation as well as the Lantau Tomorrow reclamation plan,” Lee said.
“We are also developing the Northern Metropolis. We will focus on these plans first.”
The Northern Metropolis project aims to house about 2.5 million people in the New Territories, while the Lantau Tomorrow Vision blueprint will create a new metropolis on man-made islands in the waters off Lantau Island.