前朝政府硬推六大產業，預留多幅市區及新界土地，尤其醫療及教育兩項產業坐擁多幅面積大、位置佳的靚地，導致大量寶貴土地資源被閒置。規劃署最近審視大埔土地供應情況，一次過將區內八幅土地改作房屋用途，包括一幅佔地達九公頃、原來規劃供興建私家醫院的土地，估計合共可提供約一萬個住宅單位。

遲做好過不做，當局改變部分閒置土地用途，增加房屋供應，總算踏出正確一步。其實，除了為醫療和教育產業預留的土地，港府部門手上仍有不少土地資源，例如近年不少學校因收生不足而停辦，校舍長期荒廢；又如水務署旺角辦事處位於鬧市黃金地段，至今搬遷無期；又如食環署轄下的部分公共街市，十室九空。港府並非沒有土地可用，只是部門擁地自重，沒有主動上繳，以致不少土地成為鮮為人知的地下土地儲備庫。

有地不用，性質與浪費公帑並無分別，讓土地用得其所才符合效益。求人不如求己，當局與其繼續在市區見縫插針興建單幢公屋，改變社區土地用途又受到地區阻撓，不如釋放政府部門閒置土地潛力，反而有助加快增建房屋進度。

Rather than hanging onto the empty words of developing the six priority industries,the government should use idle lands for better purposes.

Trying to promote the six priority industries obstinately, the former government had reserved a lot of sites for their development in both the urban and rural areas. In particular, many large and well-located prime sites were earmarked for the healthcare and education sectors, thus loads of valuable land resources remain idled. The Planning Department recently reviewed the supply of land in Tai Po and changed in one go the land use of eight sites into “residential zone”, including a 9-hectare site which had been planned for private hospital. The change will provide a total of about 10,000 new residential units.

Late is better than never. Changing the land use of some idle sites to increase housing supply is at least the first step in the right direction. Other than lands reserved for the healthcare and education sectors, the government still holds lots of land resources. Examples abound, in recent years, many schools had to stop operating because of under-enrolment and their campuses fell into disuse; the Mongkok office of the Water Supplies Department is situated in a prime downtown area but there is no timetable for its relocation; and some of the public markets under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department are almost completely vacant. It is not that Hong Kong has no land for use. The problem actually lies with the departments that hold onto unused sites and do not take the initiative to return them to the government. Consequently, many sites have become hidden land reserve that few people are aware of.

Leaving sites unused is tantamount to wasting public money. Land must be used appropriately in order to achieve cost-effectiveness. God helps those that help themselves. The government should release the potential of its idle lands. This is a better way to expedite housing production than the proposed attempt of building stand-alone public housing blocks on urban infill sites, or changing land use against neighbourhood views.

重要生字

idle land 閒置土地

housing production 建屋

infill site 見縫插針的地盤

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