SDEV speaks to the media

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (October 29):
 
Reporter: Mr Chan, there is a report saying that a large portion of the land in the "Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030" planning has been used as Government, Institution and Community (GIC) land, which may be used as an environmental facility. Is this policy meant to compensate a large development in the future?
 
Secretary for Development: Under the vision-driven "Hong Kong 2030+" long term strategic plan, one of our visions is to increase the capacity for both development and environment. As you may have noticed from the engagement document, we are going to increase the protected area, both in terms of land area and sea area. In the future, in taking forward these development projects, smart and low carbon will be the theme of all these new developments. During the process, we will work closely with the Environment Bureau so that these new developments will be keeping up with the environment visions of the community. There is no question of making extra land provision in the form of GIC provision for other purposes. No, there is no such a thinking behind. In fact, in our calculation from now till the 2040s, the total new land required would be 4 800 hectares. If we take into consideration the committed and planned development, to the order of about 3 600 hectares, the remaining is 1 200 hectares. Of these 1 200 hectares of new land requirement, 200 hectares are for housing development. There is a question as to why the amount of land for housing development is comparatively smaller than the GIC requirement. The reason is that in the past few years, we have been moving at full steam in terms of identifying housing development land. According to the projects committed and under planning, we have already identified about, if I remember correctly, 1 400 hectares of land for residential purpose. That is why the extra requirement is comparatively smaller. But on an overall basis, it is not small.
 
Reporter: This term of office is about to end. There is an uncertainty that who will be the next CE. So how to ensure that the "Hong Kong 2030+" planning can be achieved by the next Government?

Secretary for Development: In contemplating this long-range plan, it is not just the work of the Development Bureau. This is a final product of cross bureaux and cross departments' hard work supported by a number of consultancy studies which are very fact and scientific-based. We honestly believe that if what we are doing is in the best long-term interest of Hong Kong, and if in the process, the various considerations are fact- and logic-based, this would be taken seriously by whoever takes over from us. Of equal importance is in the coming six months, we will be able to collate a lot of opinions from the community, and this would be of very high reference value for the policy makers of the day.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Saturday, October 29, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:30

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