Commencement of Construction of The Po Leung Kuk Lee Shau Kee Youth Oasis

(12 March 2019, Hong Kong) In support of the HKSAR Government’s “Youth Hostel Scheme”, Po Leung Kuk is building the largest youth hostel in Hong Kong – The Po Leung Kuk Lee Shau Kee Youth Oasis, at Ma Tin Pok in Yuen Long. The Project received funding approval of $1,400 million for construction works by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council earlier on, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held today with officiating guests, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR the Hon Carrie Lam, GBM, GBS and Mr Martin Lee, JP, Vice Chairman of Henderson Land Development Company Limited, together with several Legislative Council and District Council members, local groups and former Chairmen of Po Leung Kuk, to bear witness to the official commencement of construction of a project stemming from the tripartite cooperation between the government, private and social sectors.

The Po Leung Kuk Lee Shau Kee Youth Oasis is the largest project in scale under the HKSAR Government’s “Youth Hostel Scheme”, with construction projected to complete in the third quarter of 2021, to provide 1,680 hostel places for working youths between 18 to 30 years old to lease at 50% of market rate for a maximum total of 5 years. The building adopts a modest and eco-friendly style, featuring several forms of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies, in addition with the provision of large greening and public spaces, enabling young people to interact and exchange ideas, paired with Po Leung Kuk’s wide range of Youth Development Services, including career planning and entrepreneurship foundation etc. to assist young people to accumulate capital and expand their personal networks (Kindly refer to the appendix for details http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/images/stories/PDF/20190312engapp.pdf).

The smooth implementation of the Project relied on the joint support from the government, private and social sectors, including the Hong Kong SAR Government actively driving the Project forward and funding the construction works in full; Dr Lee Shau Kee, Chairman of Henderson Land Development Company Limited for donating the privately-owned land, as well as the Yuen Long District Council and various local groups for coordinating district matters etc.

In her speech, Dr Margaret Choi, Chairman of Po Leung Kuk said, “The groundbreaking ceremony not only commemorates the commencement of construction, but as in the two parts making up the word ‘groundbreaking’, Po Leung Kuk is facilitated by two instrumental forces in the implementation of the large-scale Youth Hostel Project – the Hong Kong SAR Government for ‘breaking’ down hurdles to drive the Project forward and Dr Lee Shau Kee for donating the ‘ground’ for us to build on, in support of the work of Po Leung Kuk and youth development.”

Chairman Margaret Choi also said, “Po Leung Kuk and the Hong Kong SAR Government alike, take the academic, career and home ownership needs of the youth very seriously. Regarding academics, Po Leung Kuk’s 120 schools and educational units not only teach students textbook knowledge, but also nurture them to develop a positive attitude in life; Po Leung Kuk also launched several Youth Services to assist young people in developing their own careers, including the Youth Entrepreneur and Housing Support Services, C3 Co- working Space and the Young Entrepreneurship Foundation etc.; whereas the Youth Oasis Project will enable eligible youths to accumulate capital and personal networks, to build a strong foundation for their future home ownership and career development needs. 

The Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam said in her speech, “The Youth Hostel Scheme aims to better utilise land resources held by non-governmental organisations, to provide modest but practical living spaces for the youth at a favourable rate and help them realise their aspirations. I am full of anticipation for this project and hope for its completion as soon as possible, to provide more opportunities for young people in Hong Kong to acquire their own living space.”

– End –

Photo Captions
Photo 1: The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, the Hon Carrie Lam(fifth from left), Dr Margaret Choi, Chairman of Po Leung Kuk(fifth from right), Mr Martin Lee, Vice Chairman of Henderson Land Development Company Limited(fourth from left) and officiating guests at the groundbreaking ceremony.
 

Photo 2: The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, the Hon Carrie Lam(fourth from left, front row), Dr Margaret Choi, Chairman of Po Leung Kuk(fifth from left, front row), Mr Martin Lee, Vice Chairman of Henderson Land Development Company Limited(third from left, front row) and officiating guests looking at a model of the Youth Oasis.
 
Photo 3: Rendered image of the Po Leung Kuk Lee Shau Kee Youth Oasis.
 

Photo 4 & 5: Rendered images of single and double unit flats*.
*Note: All interior designs and furnishings are for reference and indication purposes; rendered images of fittings are based on one type of residential unit.

Photo 6: Rendered image of the ground floor multipurpose room.
 

About Po Leung Kuk
Founded in 1878, Po Leung Kuk, as one of the largest charity organisations in Hong Kong, has been serving Hong Kong for 140 years with its objective of “Protecting the Young and the Innocent”(保赤安良). Currently, the Kuk has more than 300 units strategically located in Hong Kong and provides services in social welfare, education, recreation and cultural fields. We have more than 45,000 students in our schools and attend to more than 600,000 visits for services a year.
For more information about Po Leung Kuk, please go to www.poleungkuk.org.hk.

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