Page 11 - URA Annual Report 2021-22

“While we celebrated our 20th anniversary last year, we also laid out three key principles for sustainable urban renewal going forward.”
Forging ahead, the URA will continue our efforts in building our – Planning Reserve, Project Reserve and Financial Reserve. To date, we have conducted extensive planning studies in old districts, including Kowloon City, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong Island East, and Tsuen Wan. A total of 520 hectares of urban land in these built-up areas have been identified with renewal potential.
Meanwhile, we have included 10 new redevelopment projects, covering 137,000 square metres of land, into the Corporate Plan for the next five years (2022/23 to 2026/27). These projects are expected to yield over 13,400 new residential units.
Critically, we must build sufficient financial reserve for the very large acquisition expenses incurred in these projects. Based on our projection, the projects under planning will incur a financial commitment of about $120 billion. Currently, there is only about $27 billion in our cash reserve. Even if we include the upfront payments to be received from the tendered projects in the next few years, the cash flow is still inadequate to cover the projected cost of $120 billion. In this regard, the URA will continue to uphold the self-financing principle as stipulated in the Urban Renewal Strategy, and make full use of all of our financial resources including borrowing capacities.
At the time of writing, I am starting my second three-year term as the Chairman of the URA. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, I am pleased to report that the URA team has continued to work diligently on urban renewal projects and related strategic studies. I am also encouraged to observe increasing public recognition and community support to the work of URA. I would like to extend my gratitude to all members of the Board for their insightful advice, support and guidance to our work throughout the year.
Urban renewal has always been full of opportunities and challenges. I shall continue to work with the Board and the URA team in pursuit of our mission. We will support the new HKSAR Administration in their initiatives to speed up the pace of urban renewal. Working together, we shall make Hong Kong a better place to live for all.
CHOW Chung-kong, GBM, GBS, JP Chairman
31 July 2022
URA ANNUAL REPORT 2021-22 9
Chairman’s Statement Managing Director’s Statement Operating Review Corporate Sustainability Management Discussion and Analysis Projects at a Glance Corporate Governance