bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Joyce Ng

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority needs more land, not money, from the government to do a better job of boosting the city’s housing supply, according to chairman Chow Chung-kong.
Having the necessary land would free the statutory body to build homes and relocate residents without first having to pay hefty compensation to acquire buildings, he said in an interview with the Post.
The URA was also exploring new ideas for future projects, Chow said, including transferring plot ratios – which determine the built-up area on a site – between locations, enabling it to build more homes in prime spots and improve planning when redeveloping urban neighbourhoods.
Set up in 2001 to push urban renewal projects and promote building maintenance and conservation of heritage sites, the URA’s contribution to housing supply has dropped in recent years to just a few hundred new flats annually for the private sector.




But Beijing’s recent directive that Hong Kong eliminate tiny, undesirable subdivided flats in old buildings by 2049 has drawn attention to the role of the URA as a private housing provider.
“Our major purpose is to slow down urban decay. That’s how we look at our responsibility,” Chow said.
But he also stressed that the URA had committed to building 18,000 new homes in the next five years, including subsidised flats, making for an annual average much higher than over the past two decades, when it built 24,000 in total.
With its reserves and access to loans, he said, the authority was well placed to proceed with its HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion) five-year plan, but land remained an issue.
“The first thing the government needs to resolve, and they are fully aware of it, is to create more land,” said Chow, who is a member of the Executive Council, the de facto cabinet of city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

With enough land, the URA could build new flats and relocate residents from buildings earmarked for redevelopment, instead of continuing the current practice of paying existing homeowners to acquire their property.
Making that change would free the body from being hamstrung by a rule that requires it pay an amount equal to the average value of a seven-year-old flat for any residential property they acquire.
“That would be significant,” Chow said, noting the rule affected the URA’s cash flow and limited its ability to take on more projects simultaneously.
To recoup the acquisition cost, it then has to sell new flats on the redeveloped site at a higher price, often making them unaffordable even for middle-class Hongkongers.
At the height of the anti-government protests in 2019, Lam described the housing shortage as “a source of public grievances” and initiated a raft of measures, including giving the URA a new mission to build “starter homes” for first-time buyers and other types of subsidised housing.


Hong Kong has some of the highest property prices in the world, a chronic shortage of land for new developments and an average waiting time of 5.8 years for a public rental flat.
Chow said it would be much easier for the URA to meet the government’s targets for subsidised housing if it was provided land on which to build.
“If they want us to acquire a property at the ‘seven-year-old price’, demolish it … rebuild and sell below market price, we won’t be able to do it very often,” he said. “I cannot be doing that forever without being concerned about our cash flow and the speed of [other projects].”
Chow said the 56-year-old Tai Sang Sai Estate of low-cost rental flats in Shek Kip Mei showed the possibilities when the URA had land to build without acquisition costs.
It will redevelop the estate to build 3,300 flats, of which 2,000 will be starter homes while the rest will rehouse existing tenants. With HK$10 billion reserved for the project, Chow said the authority was considering getting a “nice place” – perhaps even renting a hotel – for them to live in during the transition.
Hong Kong leader defends efforts to ease housing woes at first town hall in 2 years
He also revealed that the URA was exploring new approaches for future projects to help it increase the supply of homes, including taking on bigger sites with multiple blocks, instead of working on one building at a time.
To save space within a neighbourhood being rebuilt, Chow said, government facilities such as fire stations and recreational areas like small playgrounds and badminton, could be stacked within a taller building instead of being spread out.
In areas with ample shopping centres, meanwhile, a new URA residential project could reserve all the buildable floor area for housing rather than adding extra shops.
Chow said the URA was also considering a new move to transfer plot ratios among sites in urban areas.
This could be done in core Kowloon commercial areas such as Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, for which the authority had already completed a redevelopment study and would be holding a public consultation this year.
Some sites could have a higher density of flats, with better architectural design ensuring the living environment was not compromised, Chow said.




Lawrence Poon Wing-cheung, a surveyor and former authority board member, said that in the Yau Mong area, for example, the plot ratio of a small, unprofitable site on an inner street could be transferred to a bigger site along the larger Nathan Road, or a site near a railway station.
That would allow the URA to build more homes and commercial units in more accessible spots, while the smaller sites could be turned into parks.
Poon said this approach would improve planning for the whole area, and private developers would also be keen to join in.
Chow also touched on the URA’s role in promoting building maintenance, aimed at prolonging the life of buildings from 50 to 70 years.
A challenge was that nearly a fifth of some 41,000 buildings in Hong Kong had no active owners’ corporations or management companies. Just over a fifth had such groups but they were no longer functioning.
Some of these buildings were in an unsatisfactory condition because there was nobody to take charge of maintenance or apply for various subsidies available, Chow explained.
The URA would explore the idea of organising owners of different buildings to jointly hire a company to take care of the whole area, which would help keep the cost reasonable, he said.
“Every time we do redevelopment, people say we are losing the community spirit … the only way we can preserve the community spirit is to maintain the buildings so they don’t have to be demolished or rebuilt,” he said.


Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority ready to build subsidised flats, but needs land to move faster, chairman says

The URA had committed to building 18,000 new homes in the next five years, including subsidised flats. Photo: Martin Chan

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) issued acquisition offers to property owners of the first URAâs pilot project authorised by the Government in Kowloon City, namely, Shing Tak Street / Ma Tau Chung Road Development Project. 09AUG21 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

Urban Renewal Authority chairman Chow Chung-kong spoke to the Post about his agency’s efforts to increase the number of flats it builds each year. Photo: Jonathan Wong

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy


URA considering new approaches to meet target of building 18,000 flats in five years as Beijing pushes for elimination of subdivided homes
Having enough land will help remove hurdle of ‘seven-year price’ for compensating owners



URA considering new approaches to meet target of building 18,000 flats in five years as Beijing pushes for elimination of subdivided homes.


Hong Kong housing

Urban planning

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority ready to build subsidised flats, but needs land to move faster, chairman says

URA considering new approaches to meet target of building 18,000 flats in five years as Beijing pushes for elimination of subdivided homes Having enough land will help remove hurdle of ‘seven-year price’ for compensating owners

URA considering new approaches to meet target of building 18,000 flats in five years as Beijing pushes for elimination of subdivided homes

Having enough land will help remove hurdle of ‘seven-year price’ for compensating owners