Cushman Wakefield responses to the Policy Address 2025/26
- Written by Media Outreach
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 September 2025 - Response to the Policy Address 2025/26 by KK Chiu, International Director, Chief Executive, Greater China of Cushman & Wakefield:Housing Supply and Land PolicyOptimize land resource allocation and accelerate public housing supply Hong Kong's land allocation policies have a profound impact on people's lives. We are pleased to see the government actively promoting Light Public Housing and other subsidized housing in recent years, as the overall policy direction helps improve living conditions. While we recognize the government's efforts to introduce various measures to support housing needs, we believe it remains necessary to continuously increase the supply of public housing and accelerate the turnover and allocation of public housing resources. Welcoming lower construction costs to drive land development A major difficulty in land development lies in the persistently high construction costs. We are pleased to see the government adopting a multi-pronged approach to reduce construction costs and optimize process design. On this basis, we recommend that the government further rationally and timely allocate financial, human, and other resources. At the same time, it should proactively strengthen communication with the central government to strive for more centralized procurement benefits that meet Hong Kong's needs, thereby compressing core costs such as building materials and equipment to enhance overall cost-effectiveness. This move will help accelerate the pace of land supply and provide the market with a more stable and affordable development space. Cross-District Transfer of Plot Ratio to Help Advance Redevelopment We support the government in promoting urban renewal with a more flexible approach, especially the relaxation of arrangements for the cross-district transfer of plot ratio. This helps to enhance the incentive for redevelopment and can also effectively alleviate the disputes and difficulties in land resumption and compensation, allowing redevelopment projects to be implemented more smoothly.
Enriching the Home Ownership Ladder to Help Citizens Settle and Purchase Homes In addition to the continuous increase in the construction of public rental housing, I am pleased to see the government providing home ownership opportunities for families with general economic capabilities. With a significant increase in the supply of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats, raising the Green Form quota ratio will assist more public rental housing tenants in purchasing their own homes. At the same time, this allows other applicants on the public housing waiting list to be housed more quickly, achieving a win-win situation. Furthermore, I am also pleased to see the Housing Authority's plan to add another 1,000 quotas for eligible applicants of the "White Form Secondary Market Scheme." Half of these will be allocated to young families and single-person applicants under the age of 40, helping young families realize their dream of home ownership. Response to the Policy Address 2025/26 by Alva To, Vice President, Head of Consulting, Greater China of Cushman & Wakefield:Northern Metropolis DevelopmentFrom "Supervision" to "Development": The Northern Metropolis Enters a Critical New Phase of Implementation Our organization is pleased to see the Northern Metropolis officially transition from the "supervision" upgrade to the "development" phase, with the new "Northern Metropolis Development Committee" to be personally led by the Chief Executive. This structural change not only symbolizes a shift in policy focus but also demonstrates the government's strong emphasis and determination for the project's implementation. The establishment of three dedicated working groups will effectively enhance overall planning coordination, execution efficiency, and regulatory capacity, laying a solid foundation for the substantive development of the Northern Metropolis. I. Development and Operation Model Design Group: The Core Driver for Landing Mainstream Industries
- Operation-First, Construction-Led: This group is responsible for promoting the introduction and operation of mainstream industries, including the formulation of public-private partnership models such as "Build-Operate-Transfer" (BOT). This move reflects the government's awareness that the key to the Northern Metropolis's success lies not just in construction itself, but in sustainable subsequent operations and the successful establishment of industries.
- Incorporating a Technology-Oriented Approach in the "Two-Envelope Approach": Our organization supports the government's adoption of the "two-envelope approach" and recommends further increasing the weighting of the technical bid. This would make the quality of the industrial proposal, long-term commitment, and implementation capability the core criteria for evaluation.
- Introducing the "1.5-level development" Model: The concept of "1.5-level...
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