The Hong Kong government has appointed veteran politician Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung to chair the board of directors of the Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park Company – the first entity established to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis project. The Development Bureau said on Friday that the board of directors comprises five bureau chiefs and…
Hong Kong’s legislature will retain the power to scrutinise boundary changes for the Northern Metropolis megaproject proposed by the executive branch, the city’s development chief has said, addressing concerns over proposed laws to fast-track the scheme. Under proposed legislation comprising six main subsidiary laws designed to remove bottlenecks in the massive scheme near the border…
A “relatively flexible” legal framework for Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis will be introduced to the Legislative Council in late March to fast-track the megaproject’s development, a minister has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho shared the update on the planned framework on Sunday, days after the city’s latest budget sought to allocate HK$30 billion…
Nine residential sites will be offered to developers in the coming financial year to provide about 6,650 flats under a Hong Kong land sale programme, after authorities highlighted the property market had stabilised in the latest budget. Combined with other land sources, such as urban redevelopment, private development and projects linked to railway properties, the…
Hong Kong authorities may expand background checks on authorised persons in construction projects to cover company directors, the development chief has said, as the government moves to plug policy loopholes exposed by the Tai Po inferno. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho shared the possible policy direction on Wednesday, after experts noted earlier this month…
Hong Kong’s development minister has ruled out expanding an approval system for scaffolding nets to cover suppliers, saying it would amount to government overreach, while the first batch of accredited mesh is expected to be available to contractors next week. The accreditation of scaffold nets was among measures introduced to enhance fire safety at construction…
Hong Kong authorities have expedited the Northern Metropolis megaproject by setting up a non-statutory company to run a 23-hectare site in Hung Shui Kiu, while putting up the pilot area for tender. In a statement issued on Monday, the Development Bureau said it planned to name the company the Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park Company….
Hong Kong’s cash-strapped Urban Renewal Authority (URA) may review its policy to reduce compensation to residents affected by redevelopments, its new chief has said, as the organisation faces financial challenges. URA managing director Donald Choi Wun-hing said on Friday in his first meeting with the media that it was an appropriate time to review the…
Hong Kong lawmakers have urged authorities to regulate university hostel rents as more office buildings and hotels are set to be converted into student accommodation, with the Post finding market rates for some are four times higher than for campus dormitories. The legislators made the call on Tuesday as they discussed a new government policy…
Hong Kong authorities are under increasing pressure to verify whether the freshwater supply at a public housing estate contains bitumen, a substance banned from use in pipes, with experts calling for an investigation to trace the source of mystery black particles and determine if contractors have violated any rules. A source said the government would…