Improving public-private partnerships for housing development

Abstract

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been adopted in infrastructure development all over the world, such as transport infrastructure, utility infrastructure, communication infrastructure, etc. House prices and rents have risen sharply and faster than earnings in many places due to the insufficient housing supply. In this regard, many countries have adopted public-private partnership (PPP) to promote housing development to enhance economic benefits and social welfare. However, most of the countries or regions have just initiated their housing PPP development and there is no comprehensive research on how to facilitate the implementation of PPP in housing provision. Therefore, this research aims to conduct a comprehensive review on the status quo of international housing PPP development and research, based on which two cases of Hong Kong and China are selected for further exploration. First, a comprehensive review of public housing development and policies in Hong Kong, Singapore, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and other countries is provided, followed by a holistic review of international housing PPP research. Hong Kong and China are selected as the case studies for further investigation. A housing PPP framework for the public housing development in Hong Kong is developed, followed by a mathematical programming model to optimize the PPP framework for public housing development in Hong Kong. A statistical overview of the housing PPP projects in China is provided, followed by the analysis on Value for Money (VfM) assessment of housing PPP projects in China. Recommendations for future housing development through PPP in Hong Kong include planning and development system, realistic terms and balanced risks and rewards, PPP housing development fund, infrastructure and facilities for PPP housing projects, streamlined statutory procedures, public opinion and community engagement, diversity of community members, improved criteria for allocating subsidized sale housing, demand-side housing subsidies, and project monitoring and supervision. For the housing PPP development in China, it is necessary to consider the supply and demand of the housing market for ensuring that the projects to be initiated meet the real-time housing demands. Impacts of external risks such as financial crisis and global epidemic on the housing affordability issue should be well considered during the implementation of housing PPP projects. Distant provinces such as Tibet and Qinghai have never tried the PPP model in housing development, which may provide great opportunities for using PPP to benefit urban regeneration. The potential of PPP model in rural residential development is also worth to be explored.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Supervisor	Xueqing ZHANG (Supervisor)