HONG KONG?- Hong Kong's financial chief John Tsang said Wednesday in his budget speech that Hong Kong's housing land supply in aggregate in 2012/13 will provide about 30,000 private residential flats, up from 20,000 ones in 2011/2012.

Tsang said the major sources of land supply for private residential housing in the coming year include the government's Land Sale Program, four property projects along the West Rail and three property projects owned by the Mass Transit Railway.

Tsang said in this financial year, the number of residential sites sold and to be sold by the government, including those in the land sale programs for the fourth quarter already announced, amounts to 27. The sites will provide about 7,900 flats in total.

Turning to West Rail property projects, Tsang said the developments at the three sites at Nam Cheong, Tsuen Wan West TW5 (Cityside) and Tsuen Wan West TW5 (Bayside) will provide not less than 6,600 flats in total, of which 65 percent are small and medium-sized flats with a saleable floor area of 50 square meters or below.

Tsang said the quarterly land sale programs, the three West Rail property projects, urban renewal projects on other measures have provided over 20,000 private residential units in 2011/2012, having met the target set by the chief executive.

Tsang said the government will continue to increase land supply in the coming year, such as including in the Application List 47 residential sites, of which half are new sites, in the Land Sale Program for 2012-13 to be announced Thursday.

He said those land will provide about 13,500 units, adding the government shall follow the practice of announcing land sale programs in advance on a quarterly basis, and stipulate flat number or flat size restrictions in land sale in the light of market conditions and the characteristics of individual sites.