Page 55 - LH_Research_Report_2020_Eng

(Figure 29) Ground photo of the junction of Sung Wong Toi Road and To Kwa Wan Road, Ma Tau Kok

Alternatively, if the site was vacated and
developed immediately after its rezoning
process, it was expected that 600 units of
public housing could have been completed
in 2021–2023. The current plan of 100
transitional housing units in fact is a drastic
reduction in housing yield compared to the
original plan. Another consideration is that
it may not be confirmed that the site will still
be for public housing development after
the completion of the transitional housing
project, as the use of the site may be up for
discussion again by that time.

The site’s meandering development chronicles reflected two major points. First, at the time of rezoning, the
site was already carved out from a bigger site to a smaller site in a hope to expediate its development. It may
be argued that if the site only consists of the portion of the EMSD facilities and leaves out the portion of animal
management centre, it could have been cleared and started its housing development right after the rezoning
process. Second, it may be argued that when the Government was in the process of rezoning the site, there
seems to be a lack of common mandate and coordination among departments on the land clearance schedule,
such that public housing development could not be started in a timely manner.

53
53