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The most optimistic estimation expects that Hong Kong could release
around 5,000 hectares of developable land from the known land supply
projects in progress or under planning, including the 2,000 hectares of land
from the proposed reclamation projects and the proposed development
of New Territories North, both of which are still under very initial stages of
planning and study. If the developments are not obstructed (e.g. timely
funded by the Legislative Council, free from JR, etc.), the tension of the
short to medium-term demand-supply imbalance could still be eased.
However, it remains a tough challenge to retain the growth rates of
developed land area per capita during the 1990s.
This research reiterates that land transcends the area of housing. We
should understand that almost all socio-economic problems are inter-
related and they share a common predicament: insufficient land.
Resolving socio-economic issues covers much more than the aspect
of only land supply. Nevertheless, land supply must be one of the key
components of the solution. Take the policy of elderly care, it is because
even if we have perfect policies and flawless monitoring as well as
unlimited medical and institutional resources, our elders could hardly
enjoy better quality of life against an absence of new hospitals, nursing
homes, elderly community centers, etc.
Land supply and socio-economic issues
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