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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, at a media session before attending a forum today (October 19):
Reporter: (About comment by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, this morning that the Government did not secure enough land for future development.)
Secretary for Transport and Housing: The fact is, compared to what the Government has already pledged in the Chief Executive's Policy Address early this year, there is a gap of around 60 000 to 70 000 units in order to meet the target proposed by the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee. So, that 60 000 to 70 000 additional units have to be dealt with, should we adopt the 470 000 as the supply target. This is of course a very big challenge to the Government, and also to the community, because at the end of the day, the Government has to secure community support in order to develop new land and also to make the best use of existing land, such as to increase the development density of some existing sites. So, we need to work together in order to meet the target.
Reporter: Any idea on how you are going to fill the gap?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: We are working very hard and of course, we would not say this is an easy task. But we are working hard and we hope that with full community support, we should be able to overcome some of the problems.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Saturday, October 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:40
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