Land-supply solution a matter of trade-offs

Land scarcity forces thousands of Hong Kong households to put up with what is widely considered an inhumane dwelling environment — by the standards of not only developed economies but also developing economies. It also perceptibly hinders the city’s economic development. Hong Kong cannot afford any more delays in meaningfully augmenting its land resources.

To the relief of residents, both the previous and current Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administrations appreciate the severity of the city’s land-shortage crisis, which is one of the major factors that have contributed to social discord, and have taken action.

But amid adamant resistance from vested interests, the government’s efforts to produce more usable land have failed to bear much fruit. All measures taken so far are patchwork solutions at best.

Many people have rightly placed high hopes on the Task Force on Land Supply, created by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor last September. The panel, comprising 22 experts and eight relevant government officials, is tasked to review a list of land-supply options. It aims to analyze the pros and cons of each option in preparation for a public consultation.

After several months of hard work, the expert panel came up with a report on Thursday, offering 18 short- to long-term land-supply options for the public and government to consider. We can be sure that the options the task force has prioritized in its report are the most practical, workable and evenhanded among those floated by all parties so far.

Most members of the task force are experts from the relevant professional sectors; they are from both the public and private sectors. Aside from having the expertise the job requires, they are free from the influence of interest groups. Indeed, the exclusion of representatives of big developers and other interest groups from the panel has made it all the more impartial and credible.

But producing an expert report on land-supply options is merely a very small step in Hong Kong’s journey to tackling its land crisis once and for all. The hardest part of the journey would be achieving a consensus among stakeholders. Consensus is the rarest thing in the world, particularly in Hong Kong’s highly polarized society.

Indeed, Hong Kong does not really lack land resources but the consensus on how the city can make best use of its untapped land resources. The 18 options put forward by the expert panel might not be perfect. But Hong Kong people need to keep an open mind. To achieve a consensus for the common good, we must recognize the need for compromises and make trade-offs.