It is really easy for developers to make “bread”

The “Flour” and “Bread” are often used as metaphors to describe the process by which developers develop land that they have acquired into private buildings that can be sold. In fact, maintaining the smoothness and stability of this process is of paramount importance to the annual supply of private buildings in Hong Kong, to meet the continued needs of Hong Kong people and to improve their living environment. Governments, developers, and other stakeholders in development must work together and be indispensable.

New Territories

Taking this year’s figures as an example, the private housing market in Hong Kong has sold a total of 13,500 units, of which three major real estate developers (Singapore, Henderson Land, Cheung Kong) have sold 5,200. According to the Government’s “Long-Term Housing Strategy”, there will be a total of 180,000 private housing supply in the next 10 years. The “Strategy” estimates that the supply of private buildings will be about 97,000 in the next three to four years. From the figures, real estate developers supply buildings. Enough to meet the long-term goals of the government.

Despite this, there are still many real estate developers who are arrogant in their own homes. It is as simple as real estate developers building houses such as “flour and bread”. This of course is out of the picture.

First of all, the development projects to be planned by the developers are mainly in the New Territories. The land involved will not be a complete piece or a few sites. More often, the distribution will be fragmented, small-scale, irregularly shaped brownfields, greening. Land, agricultural land and even “ancestral halls.”

They each face different ownership or development issues. Developers must make persistent negotiations with different homesicks and owners of ownership. Some of the titles or land boundaries may be unclear. Some land plots have hidden channels that cannot be seen. Dealing with, some owners may be required to assist other rural infrastructure development. These have lengthened the time of land development and deepened the unpredictability of providing a stable supply to the building market.

In addition, developers who want to develop their land, that is, the so-called “raw land” to “ripe land”, must first apply to the Town Planning Board for changes in land use, and then propose to design and construct certain infrastructure as a package before they can be used. Development of residential or commercial land. The dominance of this process is actually in the hands of the government.

Land use in Hong Kong is subject to planning restrictions. To approve the use of land for high-density residential or commercial development, the government must first consider the size of the area, environmental planning, technology, infrastructure and other factors. The process involves a long period of time for internal discussions and legal procedures.

Ensure that land development plans are feasible

In addition to transportation, sewage, noise, smell, drainage, air circulation, as well as landscapes, ecology, trees, and cultural relics, natural hillside risks, etc., the government professional and engineering departments are responsible for various technical and impact assessments, and review and Check to ensure that the land development plan is feasible.

The Planning Department will be concerned about the development of the land and the whole area, whether it is compatible with the surrounding uses, and whether the land use can achieve a reasonable and feasible and efficient use layout; the Works Department will study site formation, slope consolidation, roads, drainage, sewage, etc. engineering.

If the land involves occupational purposes such as squatter or brownfield operations, the Government has to deal with land tenants in accordance with policies and legislation. These are the statutory procedures required and depend on the co-operation between the Government and the developers.

While cooperating with developers, the Government is also responsible for ensuring that developers are acting in accordance with the contract and in compliance with the relevant requirements of the development project. To complicate matters further, this process may involve the establishment of other utilities or the implementation of environmental impact mitigation measures, which involves discussions in more departments, as well as consultation with District Councils and other stakeholders.

Depending on the size and complexity of the project, if the scale of a development project necessarily involves urban planning or environmental impact assessment procedures, it will take 11 to 14 years to turn “living land” into “cooked land”; before the start of the project, the Legislative Council will be required. Approve the grant. Although the approval process is long, it ensures that the process is rigorous. As for how to maintain the rigor of the original and to reduce the approval process for “raw land” to “cooked land”, it is necessary to integrate the approval criteria and technical definitions of the responsible Planning Department, the Lands Department and the Buildings Department to reduce the overlap of different departments. category. This is also the key to the success of public-private partnerships in the future.