Hong Kong officials urge buy-back plan over ‘challenging’ Wang Fuk Court rebuild

Rebuilding the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court on its original site to rehouse displaced residents will be “immensely challenging” because of complex legal and property rights issues, a senior Hong Kong official has said, adding that a cash buy-back would be the “fastest and most flexible” solution.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun, who leads a government task force on emergency resettlement of the residents, has shifted his stance several times over the past few days.

His latest comments came as hundreds of Wang Fuk Court households reportedly signed a petition that was submitted to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, urging authorities to cut the time for on-site redevelopment and to let them vote to reflect their preferences.

Wong, who initially described in-situ redevelopment as “not practical” over the weekend, later acknowledged residents’ wishes on Monday. By Wednesday, however, he again stressed the significant challenges involved.

“Assuming building new towers requires four to five years and demolition takes 1½ years, this means we need to handle property rights and legal issues in a large number of flats within three years’ time, which is considerably challenging,” Wong said, adding that on-site redevelopment could take a decade.

At the first Legco meeting of the new term and the first since the fire that claimed 161 lives seven weeks ago, Wong pledged that the government “must allow residents to have choices”, emphasising that their responses to a government survey would not solely determine their future housing arrangements.