90% sign up for Wang Fuk Court buy-back amid concerns over rushed decisions
Deadline set for August 31, with priority flat selection for early sellers, as officials say residents can seek help to retrieve belongings from damaged homes
About 90 per cent of homeowners at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate in Hong Kong have returned signed letters accepting the government’s buy-back offer, but some residents have raised concerns about being rushed into decisions linked to priority flat selection.
The Deputy Financial Secretary’s Office said on Friday that as of July 16, a total of 1,786 owners, or about 90 per cent, had submitted acceptance letters. Of these, 769 had already signed sale and purchase agreements with the government, accounting for 43 per cent of those who had accepted the offer.
Of the letters submitted, 1,565 came from Blocks A to G, representing about 90.1 per cent of flats in those buildings, while 221 were from Wang Chi House (Block H), or roughly 89.1 per cent of its flats.
The November 26 inferno tore through Blocks A to G, killing 168 people and displacing about 5,000 residents.
The buy-back plan followed the government’s announcement in February that it would spend about HK$6.8 billion (US$867 million) to acquire affected flats, funded by HK$4 billion in public money and HK$2.8 billion from a donation-backed support fund.
The government later extended the offer to owners in Wang Chi House – the only block not damaged in the fire – at an estimated cost of HK$1 billion.