Page 65 - Demo

The Government as the overall planner and land supplier has the responsibility to provide adequate land for various uses, including economic activities. While the Government does establish frameworks for long-term land planning, it is not uncommon to see these planned development projects being delayed or overridden by short-term priorities.As the business environment of the logistics industry evolves, existing general warehouses and flatted storage facilities can hardly meet today’s market needs. Lack of industrial land in the urban area also pushes up rents. This situation has coalesced into a sprouting of brownfields as the market is driven to explore affordable alternatives in the New Territories. The logistics cluster was then fostered organically as a market response to the land shortage.These operations on brownfield sites are far from optimal, as they did not undergo comprehensive advance planning. Operations on brownfield may not be built in permanent structures and are usually low in land utilisation efficiency. These brownfield sites are often scattered in different areas and may intermingle with villages or farmland. Thus, brownfield operations often incur adverse impacts on the community, such as noise and environmental pollution. Heavy trucks can also cause serious traffic jams on narrow roads and may pose a threat to residents living nearby. Without government intervention, it is unlikely that individual operators on brownfields will consolidate and upgrade their operations, and the community will continue to suffer from these negative externalities.The emergence of brownfield is a concrete case in point of the Government’s poor record on execution. While the Government has long-term land planning in place, these plans are not complemented by short- to medium-term goals, and hence are often overridden by short-term priorities. Therefore, to resolve the land shortage for the logistics industry and the brownfield issue, it is crucial to ensure that the Government develops a strategic economic and industrial blueprint, and also develops a proper governance structure to implement strategic plans concerning land use. People not only need shelters but also jobs. While the Government should not leave any stone unturned in its quest to unlock more land for homes, it should also make sure that there is enough land to develop our strategic industries.The way forward: A commitment to ensure adequate and timely provision of land and facilities for strategic industries1. Lack of holistic economic and land use planning 2. Organic development of brownfield is being fostered3. Suboptimal operation on brownfield leads to negative externalities63