Key indicators and initiatives — including building nearly 200,000 public housing units in the coming five years, phasing out substandard subdivided units and shortening waiting times for public rental housing — are promised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government in the city’s inaugural local five-year plan and the latest Policy Address.

The authorities also commit to policies to promote fertility and increase subsidies for the grassroots, along with introducing drivers for healthcare and youth development in the two blueprints.

The two documents were announced to the public by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday during a three-hour address.

Enhancing social well-being is among six key policy areas outlined in the five-year roadmap, which was delivered first; many other measures were detailed in the subsequent Policy Address.

In the five-year plan, Lee said the government strives to resolve the housing issue by eradicating substandard subdivided units and increasing the supply of public housing.

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Key performance indicators include a timeline to resolve the issue of substandard subdivided units by 2030 and build some 196,000 units of public housing from 2026-27 to 2030-31.

Meanwhile, the authorities aim at cutting waiting time for subsidized rental housing to less than four years in 2030-31. The Urban Renewal Authority will commit to spend at least around HK$40 billion ($5.1 billion) in the next five years to boost redevelopment, the five-year plan said.

Lee said the government will ensure all 30,000 Light Public Housing units — transitional residences for people queueing for public housing units for three years or more — are completed by March 2027, ahead of the target date.

By 2027, waiting time for subsidized rental housing will be shortened to 4.5 years, Lee said.

A government source said authorities expect the problem of substandard residential units to be largely addressed by 2030, with enforcement action potentially taken against any that remain.

Encouraging childbirth is high on Lee’s annual agenda, as his administration undertook to extend the baby bonus — a one-off HK$20,000 payment to new parents launched in 2023 — for another three years, with the amount to rise to HK$30,000 for the second or further children born, effective immediately.

The tax deduction allowance for multiple children is raised to HK$160,000 per child.

The government-backed School-based After School Care Service program will be regularized from the 2027-28 school year, with no quota cap, Lee said. And there will also be new escort services for pre-primary kids.

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Five more subsidized care facilities, five dedicated elderly centers and three care homes have also been planned. The city will add 2,000 community elderly care service vouchers in the 2027-28 financial year, raising the total to 18,000. Lee also added 1,000 residential care service vouchers to increase the total to 8,000.

As for youth development, Lee mapped out a set of measures, among them the “30,000 Youth Employment and Internship Programme” in partnership with the business sector.

A new youth leader internship program will be jointly launched by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the United Nations. A government source disclosed that the program’s details were still being discussed with the UN, and that it is likely to launch within 12 months.

On healthcare, within five years, the cumulative total of district-level health centers’ beneficiaries is expected to reach one million.

The roadmap also lays out a plan to increase investment in primary healthcare programs by approximately 30 percent by 2030 or 2031, as well as increasing the number of public hospital beds to 35,000 and operating theaters to 360 by 2031.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com