MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): President, the problem of insufficient housing and land supply has beset Hong Kong for a long time. It is a livelihood issue that members of the public are most concerned about, and that the SAR Government has attached the greatest importance and accorded the top priority to seek a solution. In recent years, the Government has put forth proposals on land formation and land resumption. Regretfully, as these proposals have been obstructed time and again by the opposition camp for various reasons, or have been labelled as collusion between the Government and business, most of the initiatives have come to a standstill.

The Government put forward the North East New Territories development proposal in as early as 1998, and raised the proposal again in 2008. However, due to ongoing political disputes over the years and the numerous difficulties involved in approving the kick-off grants by the Legislative Council, the Government has yet to commence land resumption procedures today.

During the tenure of the last term government, a think tank suggested exploring the feasibility of developing the land on the periphery of country parks. The suggestion was immediately met with opposition from various organizations. The opposition camp even took advantage of the opportunity and encouraged members of the public to apply for legal aid to initiate judicial reviews, so as to impede the proposal.

Regarding the use of private agricultural land in the New Territories, come to think about this: land resumption, compensation and resettlement not only require the injection of funds, but also public-private collaboration to ensure successful development. Yet development projects involving private agricultural land are too often labelled as collusion between the Government and business, resulting in a lot of agricultural land being left idle and undeveloped for years.

Many Members pointed out that the Government should develop brownfield sites before talking about reclamation. This sounds easy but many problems have to be solved before development can take place. Most brownfield sites are scattered and not every brownfield site has the potential for high-density development. Fragmented development can hardly achieve economies of scale. Moreover, since most brownfield sites are privately owned, their development will not only involve land resumption and compensation, but also rehousing and compensation for squatter residents and occupants of the sites concerned. The resumption procedures are lengthy, costly and the process is challenging and controversial.

The Chief Executive announced the Lantau Tomorrow Vision in this year's Policy Address. I consider the proposal better than the existing land acquisition proposals in terms of cost control, time frame and long-term benefits. While reclamation and infrastructure development certainly entail considerable costs, we should bear in mind that the overall benefits brought about by the substantial area of reclaimed land, such as land sales and tax revenue, business and employment opportunities, will definitely be much higher than the amount invested.

Hong Kong has many successful examples of reclamation, for example, Central, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kai Tak Airport, Sha Tin, Ma On Shan, Tung Chung and Chek Lap Kok Airport are all built on reclaimed land. These areas play an important role in respect of Hong Kong's economic development and its status as a financial centre. Take for example our neighbour Singapore, it is 30% smaller than Hong Kong in ground area, and 22% of its land are reclaimed from the sea. The fact that Singaporeans can live happily in affordable HDB flats of over 1 000 sq ft and have other housing options is closely related to its comprehensive and long-term reclamation plans.

President, the Government has proposed to first carry out reclamation in Kau Yi Chau for 1 000 hectares of land. The reclamation, expected to be completed in phases, will accommodate a population of 700 000 to 1 100 000 by 2032. The proposal is intended to relieve housing pressure on young people. This is a pragmatic solution to create new opportunities for home ownership. As for the remaining 700 hectares, further studies could be conducted at a later stage and put to discussion by Members in a fair and objective manner. I encourage Members to collect more valuable data for analysis, rather than making an endless stream of prejudiced criticisms.

Without popular support, Hong Kong cannot thrive and improve its competitiveness. I hope colleagues will take a longer view and offer comments for the sake of Hong Kong's economic development and for enabling our next generation to live and work in contentment. Needless to say, the Government should stop holding discussions without taking decisions and taking decisions without putting them into actions. It must hasten its pace to practically implement the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project.

With these remarks, President, I support the Motion of Thanks.