The government has asked the Housing Society to take up a project aimed at developing about 2,000 starter homes in Tsuen Wan following a failed tender.

Announcing the tender results on Wednesday, the Lands Department said the sole bid received was rejected because the tendered premium did not meet the government’s reserve price for the site.

Scott Leung, deputy chairman of the Legislative Council's housing panel, said he supports the idea of having the Housing Society take over the project.

"That's because the society enjoys a higher degree of flexibility when it comes to cost and profit, compared with private developers," he said on an RTHK programme.

"Private developers have to ensure a certain level of profit. But public organisations and non-governmental bodies like the Housing Society can undertake the project without the primary objective of generating profit, as long as they continue to be self-financing."

Leung also noted the society's previous experience in developing sandwich class housing.

He added that the failed tender didn't come as a surprise because many developers didn't consider the project attractive.

The chairman of Professional Property Services, Nicholas Brooke, said it failed to attract developers because their focus is now on selling flats, not acquiring new land.

"The developers are at the moment preoccupied and focus on shifting the existing inventories, selling the inventories they have," said Brooke.

"I think developers' attention is on the other things at the moment, not in the sale or acquiring new land."

This would be the first time the Housing Society – the city's second largest public housing provider – has engaged in a starter home project.

The starter homes will be made available to first-time buyers who do not qualify for other subsidised housing schemes but cannot afford private flats.
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Last updated: 2023-08-24 HKT 17:50