Hong Kong drops public flats from Pak Shek Kok rail station plan
Official says removing public flats won't hurt 420,000-home target by 2036.
A senior Hong Kong official has defended the removal of public flats from the proposed Pak Shek Kok railway station site, reversing an earlier plan. Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling stressed Friday that the exclusion does not jeopardize the government's 10-year housing target, which aims to deliver 420,000 flats — including 294,000 public housing units — by 2036. Ho argued that the site's existing private housing and lack of community facilities made the original public housing plan unsuitable, and that sufficient land elsewhere already meets the supply goals.
The Pak Shek Kok station, announced in the 2021 policy address, will sit between Tai Po Market and University stations on the East Rail line, improving rail access to the Science Park. Ho predicted a net increase of just 7,000 passengers, as most of the 60,000 projected daily commuters already use the nearby University station and would simply switch to the new stop. The East Rail line serves as a cross-harbour corridor from Admiralty to the border crossings at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau.
- Government excludes public flats from Pak Shek Kok station site, a reversal of earlier plan.
- Official says the move won't affect the 10-year housing target of 420,000 flats by 2036.
- Station expected to add only 7,000 net passengers, with most commuters switching from University station.
Why It Matters
Developers and residents near Science Park face altered transit and housing plans, but overall supply targets remain intact.