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The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Mr Zhang Dejiang, accompanied by the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, and the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, visited the Development Bureau this afternoon (May 17).
Mr Zhang was briefed by Mr Chan on the work of the Development Bureau on land supply, Lantau development and Hong Kong's planning vision and strategy. Mr Zhang also talked to front-line civil servants from different grades to know more about their work.
Housing and land supply tops the agenda of the current-term Government. The efforts over nearly four years have reaped results and housing supply has significantly increased while property prices and rents have started to drop.
This year and the next one will witness a marked increase in the completions of private housing units. According to the latest forecast, completions of private housing units in 2016 are estimated to reach 18 000 units, representing a significant increase of 61 per cent over the 2015 figure, and the estimated completions in 2017 are expected to remain at the same high level. In the coming three to four years, the estimated potential supply of private housing in the primary market is 92 000 units, representing an increase of more than 41 per cent when compared with 65 000 units when the current-term Government took office. This is a demonstration of the continuous effort of the Government in solving the housing problem.
Ends/Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Issued at HKT 19:15
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