Hong Kong adds spared Wang Fuk Court block to resettlement plan as most opt to sell

Hong Kong expands resettlement to include spared Wang Fuk Court block after 75% of owners choose to sell flats to government. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Hong Kong adds spared Wang Fuk Court block to resettlement plan as most opt to sell

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The Hong Kong government has reversed its earlier position and will include the only block unscathed by the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in its resettlement plan, after three-quarters of its homeowners expressed a desire to sell their flats to authorities, the South China Morning Post has learned. Wang Chi House, one of eight blocks in the Tai Po estate, was originally excluded from the government’s long-term resettlement proposals following the November 26 blaze that claimed 168 lives and displaced nearly 5,000 residents. The fire, one of the deadliest in Hong Kong’s history, ravaged seven of the estate’s towers, leaving Wang Chi House as the sole structure untouched by flames. The decision to extend the resettlement scheme to Wang Chi House comes after a survey of its homeowners revealed that approximately 75 percent favored selling their units to the government rather than remaining in a building now surrounded by the charred remains of a disaster site. The shift in policy underscores the profound psychological and economic impact the tragedy has had on the entire community, even those whose properties were physically spared. Authorities had initially argued that since Wang Chi House suffered no structural damage, it did not meet the criteria for inclusion in the resettlement program, which was designed to assist those whose homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. However, the overwhelming preference among owners to sell has prompted a rethink, with officials now acknowledging that the stigma and trauma associated with living in the shadow of such a catastrophe have made the block untenable for many. The expanded plan will now offer Wang Chi House homeowners the same compensation terms as those in the damaged blocks, including ex-gratia payments and priority access to replacement public housing or subsidized flats. The government has not disclosed the total cost of the revised resettlement package, but analysts estimate it could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, given the property values in the area and the number of units involved. The tragedy has also reignited debates over fire safety standards in Hong Kong’s older housing estates, with...

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Categoria: cronaca