Lawmaker Andrew Lam says plans to redevelop several blocks around the city's famous Flower Market, as part of a wider renewal of Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, will also help the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) fund the wider project.

The URA says the plan will involve six plots, the biggest of which covers the sports centres and a football pitch on Boundary Street.

Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today, Lam, who is a former URA executive director, said the land for the sporting facilities would also help the URA with its cash flow.

"I think, at the end of the day, the so-called urgency of this project is that the government playground offers some potential for the URA to earn a bit of easy money in a way, in advance, to pave the way for financing the rest of the revitalisation project for the area," he said.

Chief Executive John Lee gave instructions for the launch of the project in his Policy Address last year.

The redevelopment zone will be turned into a municipal complex with an underground car park, and a park with a canal.

The project could be completed as early as 2033 as most of the site is government land.