Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Friday said the government’s Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project will be pushed back by two or three years, but officials are still determined to push ahead with the plan.

Speaking on a phone-in programme on RTHK’s Radio 3, Chan said feasibility studies for the ambitious reclamation project must be completed first.

“It will need to be delayed a little bit. On the one hand, we have to complete all the feasibility studies and then, taking stock of the findings of those studies, see whether we have to do some mitigation measures.

“At the moment, it will be delayed slightly – maybe two, three years – but we are determined to push this project ahead.”

Authorities have said the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands along with the Northern Metropolis would be the primary sources of Hong Kong’s future land supply.

On the radio programme, Chan also defended his decision to scrap all property cooling measures, including the levies on non-resident buyers and those with multiple homes.

Chan said the so-called “spicy” measures were introduced at a time when supply was short, property prices were skyrocketing and there was a lot of speculation. He stressed this is not the case now.

"The government will monitor the situation closely, and if it runs out of hand again, it will not rule out re-introducing those measures again."

One caller expressed concerns over the potential repercussions of removing the measures.

"The city has an ample supply of property, both now and in the future, to cope with any surge in demand," Chan responded.

Chan also said the government would offer more bond sales.

"The government has issued some bonds in recent years and will continue to do so on a larger scale, like in the coming year we are going to issue between HK$95 billion to HK$130 billion in bonds."

The finance minister reiterated that the government plans to implement a financial consolidation strategy by cutting expenditure and increasing revenue, all the while minimising the impact on businesses and individuals.