HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities have ruled out on-site partial redevelopment of the Tai Po housing complex destroyed in a deadly blaze, turning down a detailed proposal submitted by 400 displaced residents to build new flats on the land.
The Housing Bureau said on Wednesday (April 8) that rebuilding the fire-hit blocks of Wang Fuk Court on its original site would take too long and was fraught with uncertainties.
“In situ redevelopment is not the most suitable option,” a bureau spokesman told the South China Morning Post, noting that more than 80 per cent of residents preferred a quicker solution, according to an earlier government survey.
The spokesman added that beyond the long time frame, some residents were traumatised and expressed lingering fear about returning to live on the same site.
The government earlier launched a survey to gauge the long-term rehousing preferences of flat owners displaced by the fire, offering nine options for new subsidised homes, including redeveloping the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court by 2035 at the earliest.
Apart from redeveloping the fire-hit estate, other rehousing options in the survey include six ongoing projects under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) outside Tai Po, and two sites earmarked for such flats within the district.
The quickest option is Shing Chi Court in Kowloon Bay, under the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme – a policy primarily for public rental housing tenants – with an expected move-in date of September this year.
The other five rehousing options outside Tai Po under the HOS scheme, which are located in Kam Tin, Tung Chung, Ping Shan, Kai Tak and Tseung Kwan O, would allow residents to move in from mid-2027.
Residents could also choose between two planned HOS sites in Tai Po. The first one, west of Chung Nga Road, could be completed by 2029, while the second location, Kwong Fuk Park, is expected to be ready in 2033 at the earliest.
The bureau added that, according to the survey results, about 83 per cent of residents prioritised a swift rehousing process and hoped to have their living arrangements settled as soon as possible.
A redevelopment proposal representing the interests of more than 400 fire-displaced residents was submitted to the government on Wednesday, claiming that a partial redevelopment of Wang Fuk Court could generate a HK$6.4 billion (US$816.7 million) surplus.
Backed by two in-depth studies, the document noted that as many as 427 residents said they did not want compensation or rehousing, only to return home.
In the proposal, residents suggested increasing the plot ratio from 3.8 times to 6.9 times, allowing the government to construct three to four new 40-storey blocks with about 2,600 to 3,000 flats.
That would cost around HK$3.6 billion to HK$4.2 billion, taking into account other fees such as demolition and design.
Assuming about 700 of the 1,984 households chose to return, the government would have about 2,300 extra flats to sell.
Together with the estimated HK$1.5 billion insurance payout, the government would have HK$6.4 billion in surplus, according to the proposal.
Residents who chose the in situ redevelopment plan would transfer their insurance payout to the government, which would also receive the sum from those who wanted to sell their titles to the government.
With the help of modular integrated construction technology, the construction time would be shortened to about five to six years, allowing residents to return by 2031, earlier than the time frame proposed by the government.
The fire at Wang Fuk Court broke out on Nov 26, spreading to seven of the estate’s eight housing blocks and raging for about 43 hours. The blaze claimed 168 lives and displaced nearly 5,000 people.
The government earlier said that residents of the blocks destroyed in the inferno would be allowed to return to their flats, once and in groups of up to four, starting from April 20, to retrieve their belongings. - South China Morning Post/ANN
