Responding to concern over the lack of affordable housing in Taipei City, Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said yesterday that the government would begin reclaiming public land that is currently in private hands.
During an interpellation session in the legislature, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) cited data showing that in Taipei City alone, 120 hectares of state-owned land — about the size of 60 Taipei Arenas — are in private hands.
She said that according to the officially declared figures, this land has a combined value of NT$21.69 billion (US$723 million).
“There are absolutely no impediments if the Taipei City Government decides to offer more affordable apartments,” Lo said.
All it has to do is retrieve this occupied land, she said.
Premier Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said last month that the Cabinet had outlined three programs for a social housing policy, promising that the government would increase the percentage of rented public housing nationwide to resolve the problem of an increasing number of people who are -unable to afford a home.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Defense will be responsible for providing the land for the new social housing.
Wu’s remark came after Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) announced a program to build affordable rental apartments for young people and disadvantaged families in expensive areas of the city, including on a plot of land that is located on the intersection of Renai Road and Jianguo S Road.
However, the plan has had mixed reactions from the public, the Democratic -Progressive Party (DPP) and within the government.
Lee said yesterday that Lo’s numbers were correct and that his ministry would certainly reclaim land, but it needs to first assess how the occupied public land is being used before reclaiming it.
He also said that many of the plots are small and not adjacent to each other, which could make it difficult to use them for large-scale social housing apartments.
According to Lo, a total of 22,650 hectares of public land is in private possession in Taiwan as a whole.
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