Government Advances Acquisition Work of Wang Fuk Court at Full Speed

Government advances acquisition work of Wang Fuk Court at full speed

The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, and the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, attended the meeting of the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council (LegCo) today (July 17) to seek extra funding approval of $1 billion to make the long-term housing arrangement available to the owners of Wang Chi House (Block H), Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Together with the $2.8 billion provided by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po and the $4 billion earmarked under the 2026-27 Budget for the acquisition of Blocks A to G of Wang Fuk Court, the Wang Fuk Court long-term housing arrangement plan will cover all eight blocks (Blocks A to H).

The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, Photo source: reference image

The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, Photo source: reference image

Expressing gratitude to the FC for its approval of the funding, Mr Wong said that the Government will continue to advance the acquisition work of Wang Fuk Court at full speed.

As of yesterday (July 16), 90 per cent of the owners (1 786 flats) of the eight buildings of Wang Fuk Court (Blocks A to H) have submitted the duly signed "Letters of Acceptance". Among them, 1 565 letters came from the seven buildings from Blocks A to G, representing 90.1 per cent of the total number of flats in these seven blocks, while 221 letters came from Wang Chi House (Block H), representing about 89.1 per cent of the total number of flats in that block.

The Government has already signed the Agreement for Sale and Purchase with 769 owners, accounting for about 43 per cent of those who have submitted the duly signed "Letters of Acceptance".

Mr Wong said that during the FC meeting, a few LegCo Members have reflected that some residents are worried that their personal belongings remaining in the flats may not be retrievable upon transferring titles to the Government. In this connection, the Government had previously arranged for Wang Fuk Court residents to return to their flats to collect their personal belongings in two rounds. The Government is consolidating the relevant experience.

Mr Wong said that the Government has all along been striking a balance among empathy, rationality, and legality, with empathy as the priority. It will therefore adopt a people-oriented and flexible approach when addressing residents' requests for further retrieval of personal belongings from the flats. If individual residents have special needs to retrieve items left in the flats, they can make the requests through appropriate channels, including the Engagement Team and the "one social worker per household" service. The Government will consider such requests, taking into account the actual circumstances including the overall condition of the buildings, safety of the residents and working staff, as well as the substantial manpower and logistical support required, before handling the items inside the flats. The general direction is to provide opportunity for the residents to return to the flats to take their necessary belongings to tie in with their new accommodation arrangements as far as possible.

Wang Fuk Court, Photo by Bastille Post

At the meeting, Mr Wong also mentioned to Members that the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has decided to enhance the rental grant arrangement for the owners of Wang Fuk Court.

Under the enhanced arrangement, regardless of which long-term housing arrangement option the owners have chosen, whether they have successfully purchased a flat, or even if they do not participate in the long-term housing arrangements, they will receive a rental grant totalling $300,000 over two years from December 22, 2025, to December 21, 2027. In addition, if owners opt to join the Special Sales Exercise, their eligibility for the rental grant will only cease three months after the date of the assignment of the new flat purchased. Rental grants disbursed need not be refunded, but no further grants will be disbursed thereafter.

The Engagement Team co-ordinated by the Housing Bureau will continue to maintain communication with owners of Wang Fuk Court. If there are any enquiries, owners may contact their designated Engagement Team member or call the hotline at 2129 8133. Owners may also visit the dedicated website for the long-term housing arrangements for Wang Fuk Court (www.hb.gov.hk/wfc) for further details.

Wang Fuk Court, Photo by Bastille Post

Government welcomes passage of Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill

The Government today (July 17) welcomed the passage of the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill by the Legislative Council (LegCo). The smooth passage of the Bill marks an important milestone in implementing the relevant authorisation of the Central Authorities, providing the legal basis for implementing the colocation arrangement at the redeveloped Huanggang Port, and signifies a crucial step forward in the preparatory work for the opening of the Port.

The new Huanggang Port, Photo source: reference image

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) passed the decision to authorise the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to exercise jurisdiction over the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area and Related Extended Areas (collectively referred to as the Hong Kong Port Area) on June 26. Subsequently, the State Council issued an Official Reply on July 8, stipulating the specific co-ordinates and area of the Hong Kong Port Area, and agreeing that the Hong Kong Port Area is to be commissioned beginning at 00.00 hours of July 31, 2026, and is to be subject to the jurisdiction of the HKSAR in accordance with the laws of the HKSAR. To ensure that the authorisation of the Central Authorities is duly implemented, the HKSAR Government is obliged to complete the relevant local legislative work before July 31.

The Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Ordinance will be gazetted on July 20 and come into effect on July 31, providing the legal basis for the HKSAR to establish the Hong Kong Port Area at the Huanggang Port and to exercise jurisdiction over the area in accordance with the law. To facilitate the actual operation of the Hong Kong Port Area, the Government will also make various pieces of subsidiary legislation for matters concerning the administration of the Hong Kong Port Area as a closed area, the designation of detention facilities, supporting arrangements for traffic and transport management, and provision of public mobile radiocommunications services, etc. After the Ordinance has been gazetted, the Government will make the various relevant pieces of subsidiary legislation in accordance with the established procedures, ensuring that they come into operation simultaneously with the commissioning of the Hong Kong Port Area on July 31. The subsidiary legislation will thereafter be tabled before the LegCo for negative vetting at its first meeting after the Council resumes.

The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, Photo by Bastille Post

The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, said, "The redevelopment of Huanggang Port is a key project through which the HKSAR Government proactively aligns with the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, better integrates into and serves the overall development of the country, and advances the connectivity of infrastructure in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. At the same time, Huanggang Port is also an important project to improve people's livelihood. Getting the Port ready for a smooth opening at an early date is the expectation of the general public and the common goal of the governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, so as to facilitate cross-boundary travel and the two-way flow of people between the two places. The Ordinance provides a solid legal basis for the HKSAR to establish the Hong Kong Port Area at the Huanggang Port and exercise jurisdiction in accordance with the law, marking our full implementation of the NPCSC's Decision and the State Council's Official Reply."

He continued, "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the LegCo for the intensive and highly efficient scrutiny it has conducted since the introduction of the Bill into the LegCo on July 15. The House Committee held a special meeting yesterday (July 16) to conduct nearly four hours of thorough and in-depth discussion on the Bill and the relevant subsidiary legislation, and the LegCo also convened a special meeting today to resume the Second Reading debate on the Bill. I am particularly grateful to the President of the LegCo, the Hon Starry Lee, the Chairman of the House Committee, the Hon Chan Chun-ying, and all LegCo Members for their full support. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the team of the LegCo Secretariat for their hard work."

The redeveloped Huanggang Port will implement the colocation arrangement and the novel "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" mode to further enhance the passenger clearance experience and efficiency. The clearance time at the redeveloped Huanggang Port will be significantly reduced from around 30 minutes at the existing Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port to approximately five minutes. The design flow of the redeveloped Huanggang Port will increase to 200 000 passenger trips per day, and could be further increased to about 300 000 upon the future commissioning of the Northern Link Spur Line of the MTR Corporation Limited.

The smooth passage of the Bill has created favourable conditions for the early opening of the Port. With the official establishment of the Hong Kong Port Area, the HKSAR Government and the Shenzhen side will be able to fully commence the subsequent preparatory work, including a series of joint system tests, trials and drills, to ensure that all facilities and operational arrangements are sound, comprehensive, and ready, with a view to enabling the Huanggang Port to be officially open to the public at an early date for the benefit of residents of both places.

The HKSAR Government will continue to work closely with the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to press ahead with the various preparatory tasks at full steam. Upon confirmation by both sides that the Port is ready for safe and smooth operation, the Governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong will finalise the official opening date of the Huanggang Port and make timely announcements to the public.

The new Huanggang Port, Photo source: Shenzhen TV