CBRE’s Comments on the Hong Kong Government's Policy Address

Marcos Chan, Head of Research, CBRE Hong Kong, Southern China & Taiwan said, “Lantau Tomorrow is clearly the most prominent vision among all the housing and land supply initiatives unveiled in the Policy Address. The vision to develop Lantau into a ‘Double Gateway’ to the world and to other Greater Bay Area cities is rightly set. It entails a plan to construct a new major transport corridor to link up the coastal areas of Tuen Mun, North Lantau, the artificial islands in the Central Waters and the traditional business center in Hong Kong Island North with roads and railways. That will see improved connectivity of Lantau with the two established CBDs – Central and Kowloon East – and create the third CBD there for future economic development. The reclamation, along with the infrastructure and township development, will link the Western side of Hong Kong to the traditional business districts, forging a strategic new hub for the betterment of the city. That said, the fact that the vision can only be realized in the next two to three decades implies that the shortage in office supply will not ease anytime soon. 

We support the proposal to increase the ratio of public housing, in the hope that it will relieve the burden and pressure of low-to-mid-income households. The reclamation near Kau Yi Chau and Hei Ling Chau for the construction of artificial islands with a total area of about 1,700 hectares can accommodate a population of 700,000 to 1,100,000. The scale is unprecedented in Hong Kong’s development history. 

We welcome the government’s plan to reactivate the revitalisation scheme for industrial buildings, which will provide additional floor area to meet Hong Kong’s changing social and economic needs. But without any plan to increase industrial land supply, the land resources for industrial use will become even more stretched.”