The Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Saturday said Hong Kong is not in a position to stop selling residential and industrial land.

In this year’s budget, the government stated it wouldn't sell commercial sites in the coming year in light of the high office vacancy rate.

Linn pushed back against opinions saying that all land sales should be put on hold.

“Firstly, Hong Kong is eager to grow various industries. We want to make as much industrial land available for development as possible, so there’s no room to hold back. That goes against our strategy," she told an RTHK programme.

"We also won’t stop selling residential land. We have a solid plan in place, with a 10-year projection for how much land we need for public and private housing. This plan has been in play for several years, and we allocate based on this estimate every year."

The budget also proposed converting some commercial land into residential use, with locations including Hung Shui Kiu Ha Tsuen, Tung Chung, Shek Mun, and Kowloon East.

Linn said the government will take various factors into consideration before making a decision.

“If the area is not designated as a core business area, I think there's more room to include more residential elements in it. We’ll also look at the office vacancy rates. Additionally, are there newly built commercial buildings? If there are, it suggests the supply is sufficient, so we have room for adjustment,” she said.

When asked if the government is considering installment payments to encourage developers to bid for land, the development minister said they have an open mind toward large-scale land deals.

Linn pointed out that each pilot zone in the Northern Metropolis could involve HK$10 billion to HK$20 billion in investment, adding that the administration will seek opinions from developers in the market sentiment survey.

The tending process for the three pilot zones, located in Hung Shui Kiu Ha Tsuen, Fanling North, and San Tin Technopole, will begin tendering work from second half of the year.