Hong Kong’s housing authorities have said they had postponed on a temporary basis the development of a public housing project upon reviewing their cost-effectiveness after an investigation found the North District site had “complex geology with a deep bedrock layer”.

The cost for each unit under the Fanling Area 17 project could rise up to 90 percent and it could require an extra 10 months to complete if it goes ahead, the Housing Bureau said in response to media inquiries on Monday.

The bureau said it had adjusted the development priority of the project – which will provide 8,300 flats – but not abandoned it.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2031-32.

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Based on ground investigations, the Housing Department found that the bedrock level has been found at depths exceeding 80 meters below ground in general, with the deepest recorded at 120 meters below ground.

“If the site is to be used for public housing construction, deep foundation work will be involved. Preliminary estimates of the average construction cost per unit will increase by 60 percent to 90 percent, and the construction period will be lengthened by at least 10 months,” reads a government statement.

Upon reviewing different housing construction projects, the Housing Department decided to prioritize the development of other more cost-effective public housing projects in North District, including the completion of approximately 38,000 public housing units in Fanling, Sheung Shui and Kwu Tung North in the next five years, a Housing Bureau spokesman said.

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Apart from the above production in the five-year period, other projects will be expedited and ready for completion in the second five-year period in North District, including 13,000 and 17,000 units in Fanling North and the Kwu Tung North New Development Area, added the spokesman.

The Housing Bureau reaffirmed that the target supply of 308,000 public housing units in the next 10 years remains unchanged.

The adjustment in the priority of the development on this occasion will allow the authority to focus resources on developing first the more cost-effective public housing projects in order to provide homes to those in need as soon as possible, it added.