A think-tank representative on Wednesday said the government’s target for cutting waiting times for public housing was reasonable and achievable, given that supply over the coming years was set to increase.

That came in response to Chief Executive John Lee saying the government aims to shorten the waiting time to less than four years by 2030.

Speaking to RTHK, Ryan Ip, the vice president of Our Hong Kong Foundation, described the government’s decision as reasonable.

“The government is fast increasing the supply of public housing over the next five years," he said.

"Annual production is going to be double as compared to the past five years' level. So I think cutting it to four years will be realistic and also achievable.

“I also believe that with all this Light Public Housing and also transitional housing – I think we have around 30,000 Light Public Housing [units] to be completed in the next few years – it will be enough to rehouse the people currently living in subdivided units.”

Ip also welcomed the government’s decision to increase the proportion of larger flats for future subsided housing projects in the Northern Metropolis.

He called the proposal a “good first step” given that there is sufficient supply of land and housing in the Northern Metropolis.

On developing university towns, Ip said there are more details to be taken into consideration, including the layout of the campuses, transport support and financing methods.



Edited by Tony Sabine