The proposed site for some of the artificial islands that Hong Kong may build to alleviate its high cost of housing.
Photographer: Justin Chin/BloombergHong Kong Has a $64 Billion Plan to Build Islands for New Homes
The cost of building islands from scratch could double, and the plan is provoking debate on environmental and political issues.
Hong Kong, the world’s least affordable property market, has a plan to tackle its housing crisis: build four artificial islands equal to about a fifth the size of Manhattan that could house more than a million people.
The government-backed plan to create a gleaming property and commercial hub has been tried before—Palm Jumeirah, the palm-shaped archipelago in Dubai filled with luxury developments; Forest City, a housing project for 700,000 people in Malaysia; and Jurong Island in Singapore, which houses chemical and energy facilities.