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Land arbitration scheme to extend


The Pilot Scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium will be further extended for another two years to October 23, 2020, the Government announced today.

 

The decision was made given the limited number of completed arbitration cases and the general support from stakeholders to retain the avenue for arbitration, the Development Bureau said.

 

The extension will allow time for both the Government and the development sector to gain more experience, it added.

 

Meanwhile, the Government has received feedback from stakeholders expressing concerns over the absence of an upper limit for the arbitral award becoming a disincentive for potential applicants to come forward.

 

They also called for relaxing the thresholds for triggering arbitration.

 

Taking the feedback into account, the Government will engage with the professionals and stakeholders concerned to look into refining the implementation details during the period of extension.

 

The Government introduced the pilot scheme in 2014 for a trial period of two years to facilitate early agreement on land premium payable for lease modification or land exchange applications, with the aim of expediting land supply for housing and other uses. 

 

The pilot scheme was subsequently extended for two years until this year.

 

Until mid-October, the Lands Department issued a total of 32 invitations, of which one case has completed arbitration.

 


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