The Development Bureau yesterday (Jan. 20) invited market interest for developing tertiary education student dormitories on three commercial sites located in Kai Tak, Siu Lek Yuen in Sha Tin, and Tung Chung East. The government preliminarily estimates these sites could provide approximately 4,500 dormitory places in total.
Speaking on a radio program today (Jan. 21), Secretary for Development Ms. Bernadette Linn outlined the plan to release the land for student hostel development through open tender. She emphasized that the reference land premium to be set by the Lands Department would be based on its use for student dormitories, not residential purposes. The government will temporarily withhold various commercial sites from general sale due to their current availability. To make optimal use of these three plots, the authorities aim to gather market views to understand if there is interest in bidding for the land to develop student hostels. She added that once developed, the ownership of the dormitories cannot be subdivided, a condition that will be stipulated in the land lease.
Ms. Linn further noted that the government introduced supportive measures mid-last year to facilitate the conversion of commercial buildings into student dormitories, such as allowing retention of loading/unloading areas and streamlining approval processes. The government has received over 20 conversion applications. Feedback from the industry indicates a significant market demand, with hopes for the government to go further and "release more land" for constructing new student dormitories.
When questioned about the potential remoteness of the Tung Chung East site, Ms. Linn responded that Tung Chung East is a newly developing area. The site is near the future MTR Tung Chung East Station, scheduled to open in 2029, and she believes locations with direct MTR access offer convenient travel. Regarding the development model, she pointed out that the earlier Hostels in the City Scheme received over 20 applications, which aimed to convert existing commercial buildings into dormitories. The applicants were not universities but operators and developers, who can apply first and then seek partnerships with universities.
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