By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-31 07:16:30 | Updated at 2024-10-31 09:28:12
2 hours ago
Hong Kong housing authorities should use the latest technology methods to shorten the 21-year period set for redeveloping an old public estate famed as an Instagram hotspot by three to six years, lawmakers have said.
Legislators said on Thursday that more than a third of the rainbow-coloured Choi Hung Estate’s residents were elderly, calling on the government to allow them to move into flats in the later phases of redevelopment so they could continue living in the same environment.
The long-awaited development plan for the estate in Wong Tai Sin will be divided into three phases, with the first expected to start in 2028 at the earliest and the third completed by 2049, according to authorities.
Residents are expected to move into the first batch of newly redeveloped blocks by 2035-36.
The sprawling Choi Hung Estate is home to about 7,400 households in 11 seven- to 20-storey buildings built between 1962 and 1964. After the revamp, it will yield 9,200 flats, about 1,800 more than the existing number.
In a meeting with housing officials, lawmaker Frankie Ngan Man-yu urged the government to shorten the timeline and reduce the environmental impact and noise pollution expected by the redevelopment plan.
