Hong Kong 2030 Study discussed

The Land and Building Advisory Committee today (January 25) discussed the key planning issues and evaluation criteria in the second stage public consultation document for the Hong Kong 2030 Study.

"Members generally agreed that the nine planning issues identified were the key strategic issues that we need to address for the long term development of Hong Kong," the Chairman of the Committee, Professor Yeung Yue-man, said after the meeting.

"Hong Kong's future development to a large extent depends on its interaction with the Mainland, particularly the big cities and the Pearl River Delta region. This involves both cooperation and competition," said Professor Yeung.

"Any plan for our future development, both in terms of infrastructure and human resources planning, must take the development in the Pearl River Delta region as well as the whole of the Mainland into account," he said.

"The world is changing rapidly and globalisation will continue to be the trend. If we are to compete with other cities and regions, our planning system must be flexible enough to cope with the rapid changes," Professor Yeung added.

Members considered the existing policies were not conducive to the conversion of obsolete land uses, such as old industrial buildings. They suggested that the Government should device measures to speed up the conversion process, he said.

The Committee also discussed the proposed scheme to encourage provision of Residential Care Home for the Elderly (RCHE) premises in new private developments.

"Members appreciated the Government's effort in providing incentives for the provision of RCHEs in private developments. Some members, however, considered that the incentives might not be attractive enough for the developers to provide such premises," Professor Yeung said.

The Committee suggested that the Government should consider enhancing the incentives.

End/Friday, January 25, 2002

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