§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the state of private and public housing in Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarThe provision of housing remains of priority commitment for the Hong Kong Government, whose aim is to ensure that every family eventually has a permanent, self-contained home, at a rent or price it can afford. To this end, about one third of its total annual capital expenditure and one tenth of recurrent expenditure is devoted to public housing. The Government-sponsored housing authority has a subsidised public housing programme which aims to produce annually over 40,000 flats (30,000 for rental and 10,000 for ownership). In 1985, they constructed a record 49,724 such flats. In addition to quantity, the authority places emphasis on steadily improving the quality of new public housing, and redeveloping existing stock. At present 2.6 million people, or about 47 per cent. of the population, live in public housing.
The private sector produced some 30,000 units of accommodation in 1985 and production of about 33,000 units is expected in 1986.
Demand for both public and private housing continues to exceed supply, and outstanding demand for public rental flats alone is estimated to be over 330,000 units. Assuming no untoward occurrences and maintenance of current production targets, the bulk of this rental demand should be met by the mid-1990s.