Hong Kong needs to build 2,200-hectare artificial island: thinktank
A thinktank is proposing to reclaim 2,200 hectares of land in an
attempt to solve Hong Kong’s longstanding issues with housing
density.
Our Hong Kong Foundation released this week a report on the
viability of reclaiming land east of Lantau Island with a capacity to
house 1.1 million people.
The thinktank was founded by no less than former Hong Kong Chief
Executive Tung Chee-hwa.
“High property prices have severely affected people’s livelihood,”
Tung was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.
“Many people are forced to live in subdivided housing, with a wide
gap between the rich and the poor. We must think of solutions to
address the status quo.”
Our Hong Kong Foundation formulated the proposal alongside
research partners McKinsey & Company, Arup, and ERM.
Joe Ngai, senior partner of McKinsey & Company, said that building a land bank would be “the most effective option among all medium-
and long-term” options for Hong Kong.
The thinktank’s proposal expands on the government’s recently
publicised plan to construct an island spanning 1,000 hectares to
house 700,000 people by the 2030s. In terms of cost-benefit ratio,
however, a larger scheme would be in order, experts said.
Our Hong Kong Foundation's reclamation project could yield between 250,000 and 400,000 flats.
The island would take 11 years to build and cost around HKD1,300
(USD166) per square foot, with transport infrastructure alone costing HKD650 per square foot, according to Stephen Wong Yuen-shan, deputy executive director of Our Hong Kong Foundation.
Ref: Property Report