Government mulls underground facilities to free up land for housing

Sewage plants and reservoirs can be relocated to caverns to build more homes.

Bloomberg reports that the Hong Kong government is mulling the possibility of underground developments to unlock more land for housing as the Lam administration is leaving no stone left unturned to plug the city’s chronic land shortage.

Facilities like sewage plants and reservoirs can be relocated to caverns to free up more land for housing purposes, the Task Force on Land Supply noted.

“Hong Kong’s hilly terrain and strong rock formations make it highly suitable for developing rock caverns, particularly on the urban fringes,” the task force said.

Hong Kong’s land shortage problem has ballooned worse than expected as the shortfall is actually greater than the 1,200 hectares initially estimated by the government, the committee also revealed.

"The Task Force has identified 18 land supply options which have the potential to provide additional land. Based on their estimated earliest possible time to deliver land, these options are grouped into short-to-medium term (four), medium-to-long term (six) and conceptual (eight),” Wong added.

Home ownership in Hong Kong has plunged below 50% which represents the lowest level since 1999 amidst a lack of affordable housing alternatives and skyrocketing rents that have made Hong Kong the world's most expensive housing market for the eighth year in a row.

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