雙語社評齊齊聽

[英語 (足本收聽)] Presented by Dr CHAN, Danny Weng-kit, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

[普通話 (足本收聽)] Presented by Dr JIAO, Nina, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

AFTER years of delay, the government is making preparations for the requisition of land for Northeast New Territories development at long last. However, it deserves close attention whether anything untoward will happen when actual compensation and demolition work is underway just like the previous campaigns for conservation and "non-relocation and non-demolition".

[ENG audio 1]

The requisition of land and the demolition of buildings as part of the development of the new regions of Kwu Tung North and Fanling North will begin in the second half of the year. The Panel on Development of the Legislative Council will meet next week to deliberate on whether to approve funding for the first phase of the plan. The government explains that the plan will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will be the development of 168 hectares of land (equivalent to the area of nine Victoria Parks). The demolition, compensation and construction involved will cost $47 billion. It is expected to supply 21,000 apartments, including 18,000 public housing apartments. The second phase will be the development of 247 hectares of land. Estimates of the cost have yet to be made, but it is predicted that the whole project will cost more than $100 billion and will be completed by 2031. More than 70,000 apartments will be supplied, 68% of which will be public housing.

[ENG audio 2]

Hong Kong will be in need of at least 4,800 hectares of land over the next 30 years. Up to now the government has found 3,600 hectares of land, including the new development regions of Kwu Tung North and Fanling North. Over the next 10 years, these two regions will support the government's supply of housing. Still, the government has to find land to put up housing on an ambitious scale to cover the 1,200-hectare shortfall in land. Initiated in 2008, the Northeast New Territories development plan has suffered a lot of setbacks. It is not until now that applications for funding for the construction are being made, which will mark the first step in the requisition of land. The slow progress reflects the government's low efficiency in developing land resources as well as the difficulty of developing brownfield sites and new regions.

[ENG audio 3]

According to the report of the Task Force on Land Supply, the development of brownfield sites and the creation of more new development regions are the options supported by the most people, both supported by more than 80% of citizens. During the big debate on land supply, many people argued that all the problems could be resolved by invoking the Lands Resumption Ordinance. Some opponents of land reclamation from the sea also stressed that as Hong Kong's brownfield sites totalled more than a thousand hectares in area, the principle of "brown first, blue and green second" should be adopted for the search for land. But we need to be practical and look at how things actually work when it comes to increasing land supply. Rather than chanting empty slogans and talking emptily about principles, it is better to look at real examples. The case of Kwu Tung North and Fanling North illustrates the importance of a multi-pronged approach rather than the reliance on the development of brownfield sites.

[ENG audio 4]

No doubt the government should convince the public with action. It must not always take the easy way out and give in to pressure from the rich and powerful. The government spent tens of billions of dollars on the resumption of land and compensation to develop Kwu Tung North and Fanling North. In contrast, the vast swathe of land occupied by the Fanling Golf Course is right in front of us, and it takes nothing to take it back. Concerned about the community's ability to accommodate the population, the Task Force suggests requisitioning the golf course land east of Fan Kam Road, which is 32 hectares in area, as a beginning. If the government rejects this suggestion categorically, the legality and justifiability of all of its future action to resume land will be challenged by some people, who will query why the government fails to reclaim free land from the golf course.

[ENG audio 5]

東北準備開始收地 折射發展棕地困境

新界東北發展延宕多年，政府終於開始準備收地，然而具體收地賠償和清拆工作會否橫生枝節，出現保育抗爭和不遷不拆風波，仍需密切留意。 

[PTH audio 1]

古洞北粉嶺北新發展區的收地及清拆工作，將於下半年展開，立法會發展事務委員會下周將討論首階段工程撥款申請。政府解釋，整個發展計劃分為兩階段，首階段發展168公頃（約9個維園面積），清拆賠償及工程成本約為470億元，預料提供2.1萬伙住宅，包括1.8萬伙公營房屋；第2階段發展247公頃，目前未有確實估算金額，初步推算整項計劃發展成本超過千億元，2031年完成，提供超過7萬伙住宅，當中68%為公營房屋。

[PTH audio 2]

未來30年本港土地需求至少4800公頃，目前政府已覓土地有3600公頃，包括古洞北和粉嶺北新發展區。未來10年，兩區將成為政府房屋供應的「糧倉」，不過政府仍需大力覓地建屋，填補缺地至少1200公頃的空白。新界東北發展規劃2008年啟動，經歷不少風雨，至今才終於來到申請工程撥款、準備開始收地的一步，進度之慢固然反映政府造地效率低下，惟亦反映發展棕地和開拓新區的困難。

[PTH audio 3]

根據土地小組報告，發展新界棕地和更多新發展區，是最多市民支持的土地供應選項，支持度超過八成。土地大辯論期間，不少人認為引用《收回土地條例》，一切問題即可迎刃而解，亦有反對填海的人士強調，本港有逾千公頃棕地，覓地建屋必須「先棕後藍綠」，云云。增加土地供應，必須實事求是，考慮實際操作，空談原則口號不如多看現實案例，古洞北粉嶺北的例子，正好說明為何覓地建屋必須多管齊下，不能單靠發展棕地。

[PTH audio 4]

當然，政府也必須以行動說服公眾，政府覓地建屋，不會是柿子只挑軟的吃，一遇權貴壓力便退縮。政府為了發展古洞北粉嶺北，耗用百億元計公帑於收地賠償，可是粉嶺高球場大片土地擺在眼前，政府毋須動用分毫就可以收回。土地小組考慮到社區承載能力，建議率先收回粉錦公路以東32公頃高球場土地建屋，如果政府堅決拒絕，未來當局所有收地行動，都會有人以「政府有高球場免費地卻不去收」為理由，質疑政府做法的正當性和合理性。

[PTH audio 5]

明報社評 2019.01.18