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Identify the three levels of problems The third level involves social consensus. While Hong Kong is facing
that impede housing supply an unprecedented housing crisis, our society is still highly fragmented
by the various rigid individual beliefs on the ideal supply path or
development model. Without making the rational judgments and
The problems hindering Hong Kong’s housing supply are complex, but necessary trade-offs, our society is struggling to make any progress.
can actually be categorised into three levels. Only when all three The Government must lead its citizens to understand the real demands
levels of problems are solved will there be a real chance of unlocking during this extraordinary time. Moreover, the Government must be
the structural fetters that have long impeded Hong Kong’s open-minded in exploring any option that has the potential to
development and governance. substantially increase housing supply.
The first level involves the vetting and approval procedures. The
current development procedures are burdened by various obstacles “Speed up, efficiency up, and mass up”
linked to repeated consultations, duplicate regulations, and inconsistent
or unclear approval standards, which caused unnecessary delays in to solve the housing crisis
housing developments. To breakthrough, the Government must speed
up housing supply by streamlining development procedures, reducing To address the three levels of problems mentioned above, this report
excessive or repetitive public consultations and hearings, and proposes three major recommendation directions, namely “speed
leveraging market power to promote public-private partnerships. up”, “efficiency up”, and “mass up”, covering 23 detailed
The second level involves the civil servant efficiency. In a work recommendations (Table I). By reorganising the work procedures of
environment without clear goals and responsibilities, civil servants lack large-scale development, private housing, and public housing projects,
incentives to perform and have gradually developed a pessimistic work the Government can remove the barriers and expedite the development
culture. To breakthrough, the Government must expeditiously set an vetting and approval procedures. Also, the Government can activate
overarching inter-departmental goal to significantly boost land and the optimal performance of civil servants by enhancing accountability
housing supply, strengthen high-level steering and the accountability and launching a performance-based reward and punishment system.
mechanism, and supervise each relevant department to develop its Furthermore, the Government must proactively facilitate different land
own corresponding quantifiable performance indicators. Furthermore, supply options and increase the manpower of the construction
the Government should boost the efficiency and morale of civil servants industry, to create a land reserve and boost development capacity. We
by introducing a performance-based evaluation mechanism, and a believe these recommendations will not only help accelerate housing
corresponding reward and punishment system. supply in the short to medium term, but also enable the early
completion of medium to long term development projects, such as the
Northern Metropolis and the Lantau Tomorrow Vision.

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