Hong Kong housing authorities have revealed that the now-suspended plan to build 8,300 public flats in a northern town will face higher costs of up to 90 per cent for each home and require an extra 10 months to complete if it were to press ahead.
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The Housing Bureau said on Monday that the postponement was prompted by its ground investigation that the site had “complex geology with a deep bedrock layer”.
“The authority stresses that it has not abandoned the project,” the bureau said.
It added that geological issues were expected to bring a longer-than-normal construction period and significant costs for foundation works.
The bedrock level had been found at depths exceeding 80 metres (262 feet) below ground in general, with the deepest recorded at 120 metres. If the site were to be used for public housing construction, deep foundation work would be involved, it said.
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The suspension of the development, including its site formation and infrastructure works, in Fanling was revealed in a document the Housing Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department submitted to the North District Council last week for a meeting on Monday.
According to the paper, the Fanling Area 17 site, spanning about 5.47 hectares (13.5 acres) of both government and private land, is located to the east of Ling Shan Road and Jockey Club Road, south of Ma Sik Road and west of Fan Leng Lau Road. It currently houses the Fan Garden Police Driving and Traffic Training Centre.