A sign shows the MTR network metro logo outside a station in Hong Kong on Feb 1, 2010. (MIKE CLARKE / AFP)

Hong Kong’s railway operator MTR Corp said it could build more subsidized housing, as the city struggles to make homes more affordable.

The company is open to finding ways to help solve the housing shortage including building more subsidized apartments in the future, according to Chief Executive Officer Jacob Kam. 

Depending on the government housing policy, we could actually get into building subsidized housing as well as normal private housing; as long as we capture enough external value and feed it back into the railway, we are flexible.

Jacob Kam, CEO of MTR

“Depending on the government housing policy, we could actually get into building subsidized housing as well as normal private housing,” Kam said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “As long as we capture enough external value and feed it back into the railway, we are flexible.”

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MTR has partnered with developers to build dozens of private housing projects, typically on top of its stations. Many of these developments are popular among buyers for their proximity to the railway. The Pavilia Farm project with New World Development Co was the most sought after in more than two decades.

Subsidized apartments sell at a lower price than the market level, with the difference paid by the government. Revenue for developers tends to be lower than for private housing. MTR has been involved in few subsidized housing projects over the years. Its upcoming Siu Ho Wan Depot project on Lantau Island will include such apartments. 

As for the rail operator’s other businesses, it has seen a “significant recovery” in domestic patronage for transportation and retail, Kam said. The company is looking forward to the relaxation of border restrictions with the Chinese mainland so that it can regain income from cross-border travel, he added.

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