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All land within the HKSAR is state property, and the Government is responsible
for its disposal and management. Government land for private development
is normally disposed of by way of public auction or tender. Land is also
made available by private treaty grant at a nominal land premium to non-profit
making educational, medical and charitable institutions for operating
schools, hospitals and social welfare and other community facilities.
Land grants at full market value premium are made to public utility companies
for their installations.
New government land leases are normally granted at
a premium for 50 years from the date of grant and subject to an annual
rent equivalent to three per cent of the rateable value of the property
at the date of grant, adjusted in step with any changes in the rateable
value thereafter.
As part of a package of measures implemented since
November 2002 to restore public confidence in the property market, scheduled
land auctions had stopped and the Application List system was suspended
until the end of 2003.
Sites sold by public tender in 2003 included a heritage
site for commercial development and preservation of historic buildings,
with a total area of 1.23 hectares, and four sites, for petrol filling
stations, with a total area of 0.8 hectares.
In addition to land supply from the Government, existing
privately held land leases can be amended, normally at a premium, on lease-holders'
initiatives to provide for a more intensive or different type of development
in accordance with the prevailing planning intentions. These amendments
are effected by either lease modification or land exchange. During the
year, 152 such transactions were concluded, involving a total of 1 515
hectares. |
