Accompanied by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, and the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (December 26) visited the Siu Ho Wan Depot of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL)and was briefed by the Chairman of the board of directors of the MTRCL, Dr Rex Auyeung, and the MTRCL's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Jacob Kam, as well as other representatives of the MTRCL on the future housing development plan there.
 
     Mrs Lam announced in her 2020 Policy Address that the Outline Zoning Plan for the Siu Ho Wan Depot site topside development of the MTRCL had been drawn up and that, based on the latest assessment, it is expected that the site may provide about 20 000 residential units in the medium to long term, of which around 50 per cent will be public housing. This is going to be the second topside public housing project above railway facilities since the Kornhill development on the Island Line four decades ago in the 1980s, demonstrating the current-term Government's determination in expanding public housing supply. Compared to the Kornhill development project, in which public housing only accounted for about a quarter of the units of the entire project, the Siu Ho Wan Depot development will offer a larger proportion of public housing, which will account for about half of the total supply. The first 6 000 or so public and private housing flats are expected to take in residents from 2030 onwards.
 
     Mrs Lam said, "Housing is the crux of the many problems faced by Hong Kong, and the core of the housing problem lies in the shortage of land for housing development. In addition to pressing ahead with the eight land supply options recommended by the Task Force on Land Supply, the current-term Government has also comprehensively reviewed the use of existing public facilities to implement the 'single site, multiple use' development model.
 
     "The 30-hectare Siu Ho Wan Depot site has great potential for development through innovative planning. Undoubtedly, pursuing topside development at this operating depot poses considerable technical challenges. I thank the MTRCL for conducting a large amount of preparatory work to take forward the project. The relevant departments will provide full support in a bid to facilitate the commencement of the works of the project as soon as possible, thereby further increasing the supply of public housing in the future.
 
     "Indeed, our efforts over the years in increasing housing supply have started to pay off. As I announced earlier, the Government has identified 330 hectares of land required for providing 316 000 public housing units to meet the demand for public housing units in the coming 10 years as stated in the Long Term Housing Strategy Annual Progress Report 2020. That land has not included the Siu Ho Wan Depot development project."
 
     Mrs Lam encouraged the MTRCL to continue its efforts to explore more railway land for housing development through innovative thinking, combining people's needs for housing and commuting. She also said she was pleased to note that the MTRCL will adopt the latest technology for the relocation of the depot to meet the needs of the operation of railway services in the future.

Ends/Saturday, December 26, 2020
Issued at HKT 23:40

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