The government said on Monday that the construction cost of the second phase of its light public housing project, which will see five vacant schools converted into flats, will be significantly lower.

In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council, it outlined a reduction in the required engineering funds from the original estimate of HK$11.5 billion to HK$9.8 billion.

The document also stated that it had decided to scrap the Lin Tong Mei project in Sheung Shui and instead convert five vacant or soon-to-be-vacant schools in Kwun Tong, Kowloon Bay and Wong Tai Sin. There will also be an additional project in Ma On Shan.

However, the target of providing 30,000 light public housing units will remain unchanged.

Sources told RTHK that the cost reduction was mainly due to the fact that the tender price for the first phase of the project was 20 per cent lower than the original estimate due to the use of innovative construction methods - and the scrapping of the Lin Tong Mei project eliminated the need to build additional infrastructure.