Motion of Thanks - Housing, Infrastructure, Planning and Development  (2015/02/12)

Deputy President, one of the highlights of this year's Policy Address is housing. Given the current high property prices, the formulation of short-, medium- and long-term housing policies in order to rovide Hong Kong people with homes will be welcome by members of the public. Since the Government has such determination, I hope Members of the opposition camp will not oppose for the sake of opposition and filibuster over the Government's resumption of land and housing issues, so as to expeditiously resolve the housing difficulties faced by Hong Kong people.

I am disappointed at the absence of any future development plan for Hong Kong hotels in this Policy Address. According to the data provided by the Government, between 2014 and 2017, the annual growth of hotel rooms is 4% only, much lower than the growth of overnight visitors in recent years. The estimated supply of hotel rooms by 2017 is 82 000, but in respect of the situation after that year, the Government has not provided any specific data analysis of the new supply. Although the Government announced last year that the six sites within the "hotel belt" of Kai Tak would be released to the market soon, the completion date remains unknown.

The shortage of hotels will result in seasonal prices and high room prices, thus dampening the desire of overseas visitors as well as MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and business travellers to visit Hong Kong and driving them to neighbouring countries and regions such as the Mainland, Macao, Singapore and Thailand. For this reason, I suggest that the Government should, from now on, draw up planning for hotel sites in various districts in Hong Kong and set a reasonable growth rate for the period after 2017. In case there is a shortage of hotel sites, the Government may also consider encouraging the industry to convert factory premises or commercial buildings into hotel or guesthouse use, so as to alleviate the shortage of hotels in future.

Deputy President, at present, apart from the shortage of commercial and hotel sites, the shortfall of parking spaces especially for coaches is even more serious. The Government has started to recover four temporary car parks for some 500 coaches at Kai Tak. But after the recovery, basically the Government has not assisted the industry in identifying other parking spaces as replacements, thus leading to widespread grievances among members of the industry. The shortage of coach parking spaces has started to affect various tourism districts and some residential areas, and illegal parking and traffic congestion have become increasingly serious. Two years ago, I had repeatedly asked the Transport and Housing Bureau how best the shortage of coach parking spaces could be addressed. Secretary Prof Anthony CHEUNG also admitted the existence of this shortfall. Let me quote the original wording of his reply at that time. He pointed out that with the continuous increase in the number of private cars and private light buses, and so on, the shortfall of parking spaces had presented a big challenge. A decade had passed since the last territory-wide Parking Demand Study, and it was time to conduct another review. Nevertheless, it has already been two years since he made those remarks, but the relevant study is not taken any way forward, nor is there any measure to improve the situation in districts with an enormous demand for coach parking spaces, especially Kowloon East. I hope the Administration will not attend to one thing but lose sight of another when resolving housing issues. Instead, it should draw up plans to increase commercial and hotel sites. Also, it should expeditiously and comprehensively review parking demand in order to increase the supply of various types of parking spaces especially for coaches.

Deputy President, it was announced in the 2013 Policy Address that a recreational landmark "Kai Tak Fantasy" would be set up in the Kai Tak Development Area. Last November, the results for the relevant design ideas competition were ready, but we do not know how things are going on. This year's Policy Address proposed to continue to take forward the "Kai Tak Fantasy"project and commence studies on its planning, engineering and mode of implementation. I hope the authorities can expeditiously announce the specific details, investment scale and implementation timetable of the "Kai Tak Fantasy" project, and deliver this so-called world-class tourism, entertainment and leisure attraction as soon as possible, with a view to injecting new impetus into Hong Kong's tourism.

Lastly, I am concerned about the pressure on some transport and facilities in the New Territories by the increasingly large number of Mainland and Hong Kong shoppers and parallel traders on day trips. I hope the Government will communicate with such public transport companies as the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) and bus companies, asking them to maintain order through increased staff and strictly enforce the relevant requirements, so that passengers with no luggage will not be affected by those bringing along large amounts or pieces of luggage. Meanwhile, the relevant companies may also consider offering more concessions to residents in affected districts in order to alleviate public grievances. Recently, some radicals have launched a series of unlawful protest actions by making use of the discontent among residents of the districts, thus affecting tourists and shops. Their actions not only serve no good purposes, but also stir up conflicts, to which I am strongly opposed. I hope they will stop their actions and seek resolution of the prevailing problems with a rational and pragmatic attitude.

Deputy President, I so submit.