An applicant has to wait 5.8 years on average before being assigned a public housing unit, according to data released by Housing Authority in August.

Chan said in his blog on Saturday that the government has found about 350 hectare of land and can offer around 330,000 public housing units in the next ten years.

He expected around 100,000 units will be ready in the first five-year period between next year and the year 2026/27, and the remaining 230,000 units will be offered in the second five-year period starting the year 2027/28.

He added around 46,000 units will be available each year on average, and the number can be increased to around 54,000 a year with the government recovering around 8,000 units a year for reassignment.

Therefore the average waiting time is expected to be shortened as soon as 2027 with the larger number of available units in the second five-year period.

Yet, Chan stressed the actual number of public housing units will differ year to year and it depends on the land can really be supplied to the government.