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Acting Chief Executive John Tsang
The Government has a significant stake in the Urban Renewal Authority, having injected US$1.3 billion into it initially, to get it up and running.
The URA also enjoys land-premium waivers for its redevelopment and rehousing sites. As of March, the total amount of land premium waived for the 33 URA projects had reached US$1.9 billion.
As a clear demonstration of our continued support and commitment to urban renewal, the Government has more than doubled its financial support for the URA over these 15 years.
I agree that 15 years is not a long time in the context of urban renewal. Indeed, in many cases, a redevelopment project's full impact on the local community will only be seen, and felt, decades later, after its completion.
The URA's greatest achievement must be the benefit that it brings to people and also their living conditions. The very purpose of urban renewal and redevelopment.
And from the beginning, the URA has advocated a "people-first" philosophy. And we have emphasised, time and again, that urban renewal should not be driven by a "slash and burn" mindset.
While we updated our urban renewal strategy in 2011, we continue to advocate a "people-first, district-based and public participatory approach". The mode of operation is bottom-up and community-centred, engaging stakeholders early on in the process.
This approach has admittedly engendered new challenges. On the one hand, the diverse interests of owners, tenants, business operators and related concern groups need to be addressed, bearing in mind the community's rising demand for preserving local characteristics and even greater public participation.
And on the other hand, there is added urgency in arresting urban decay, given that our buildings are ageing rapidly. At present, there are 6,600 private buildings that are at least 50 years of age in Hong Kong, and this number will increase by 560 a year over the next decade.
How to gain the support of relevant stakeholders while moving ahead on urban renewal has become a priority for us.
Equally complex is tackling urban renewal in a sustainable manner. How do we achieve a balance between preservation and redevelopment in regenerating a dilapidated area?
Is redevelopment or rehabilitation more effective in upgrading our built environment? Should owners or taxpayers shoulder urban renewal's substantial costs? And what is the role of the market in promoting urban renewal? These rhetorical questions need to be answered.
Hong Kong, like all other cities, of course, is more than buildings and structures rising, fading and falling. It is also the manifestations of its inhabitants and such intangibles as memory, history, emotional experience and cultural identity.
It is important for us to integrate these wide-ranging dimensions seamlessly and innovatively, creating space and value for the betterment of Hong Kong, and for our citizens' pride and ownership in our community.
Acting Chief Executive John Tsang gave these remarks at the "Bringing Innovations to Urban Renewal" International Conference organised by the Urban Renewal Authority on June 10.
