Lots of choice: Director of Lands Patrick Lau says the Application List system enables the market to determine flexibly the quantity and the timing of land to be put up for sale.

Director of Lands Patrick Lau says the 2007-08 Application List will offer 47 sites, including 10 new ones, adding the deposit amount for applications will be cut from 10% to 5% and bank guarantees will be accepted to facilitate triggering of sites.

Mr Lau said at a press conference today the Application List system will stay and market demand should determine land supply.

"The Application List system is a market-driven mechanism. It enables the market to determine flexibly the quantity and the timing of land to be put up for sale," he said.

Greater variety

"With the 2007-08 Application List, we have taken into account the prevailing market conditions, the Government land available for the coming 12 months, the supply of land from other sources including railway-related projects, and suggestions from the trade that the list should have more sites and a greater variety to suit different demands."

In view of the keen interest developers showed in triggering sites in the past year, the 2007-08 Application List offers a variety of choices to meet demand for smaller sites and sites for high-end residential development. It should be able to meet the developers' different development strategies and, more importantly, the community's needs.

10 new sites

"The new Application List will offer 47 sites. In addition to the 37 sites rolled over from the current Application List, we have added 10 new and attractive sites," Mr Lau said.

The new list has 33 residential and 14 commercial/business sites. Depending upon the final development to be undertaken, it is estimated that the residential sites, with a total area of about 28.7 hectares, can produce around 13,000 flats. Nine residential sites are located on Hong Kong Island, nine in Kowloon and 15 in the New Territories and outlying islands. 

The 14 commercial/business sites, with a total area of about 9.5 hectares, are located in Central, Kowloon Bay, Tsuen Wan, Tin Shui Wai, Sai Kung, Sha Tin and Kwun Tong.

Diversified development

"The new Application List includes 20 small sites each of less than 0.5 hectares in area. Among these, 13 sites are for residential use and seven sites are for business or commercial use. These sites should be particularly attractive to medium-sized and small developers. The market will see more diversified development projects with different designs.

"The Application List also includes 11 large residential sites capable of generating a supply of about 6,700 flats," Mr Lau said.

Mr Lau stressed the Government is committed to enhancing the system's operation, adding the following new measures will be adopted to address users' concerns:

* reducing the deposit amount for applications from 10% to 5% of the submitted bid, subject to a maximum amount of $25 million; and

* accepting a bank guarantee, as an alternative to a cashier order or a certified cheque.

New measures

There are concerns from real-estate sector members that the existing requirement for the applicant to put up a non-interest-bearing deposit to support a triggering bid imposes a financial burden on the applicant regardless of whether the party might ultimately succeed in the open auction after triggering the site for sale.

Mr Lau said the new measures have responded to the wishes of the trade to lower their real or opportunity costs in making an application to trigger a site.

"We are making the system more user-friendly, particularly to the small and medium-sized developers," he added.