Hong Kong’s housing authorities have suspended a key public residential development in a northern town consisting of 8,300 homes due to the suspected high costs of building the flats on deep rock strata, according to a lawmaker.
The suspension of the development, including its site formation and infrastructure works, in Fanling came to light on Sunday in a document the Housing Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department submitted to the North District Council, a day before a meeting to discuss the matter on Monday.
The Fanling Area 17 site, spanning about 5.47 hectares (13.5 acres) of both government and private land, is located to the east of Ling Shan Road and Jockey Club Road, south of Ma Sik Road and west of Fan Leng Lau Road. It currently houses the Fan Garden Police Driving and Traffic Training Centre.
The document did not mention the exact reasons of the suspension but said: “To align with the government’s principle of maintaining sustainable public finances, the Housing Bureau has adjusted the development plan for the Fanling Area 17 public housing project after reviewing the cost-effectiveness of public housing initiatives over the next ten years.”
Authorities said they had “more flexibility to prioritise sites that are more suitable and cost-effective for construction” with sufficient land supply for public housing in the next decade.
Lawmaker Edward Lau Kwok-fan, who is a member of the Legislative Council’s housing panel, said the government’s decision stemmed from geotechnical studies revealing unusually deep rock strata beneath the site, leading to significantly higher foundation costs.
