The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced on Saturday plans to buy the property rights from apartment owners in the seven Wang Fuk Court buildings charred by a deadly fire that broke out in late November.

The purchase will be made in either cash or property right swaps, with total expenditure estimated at around 6.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 870 million U.S. dollars), Michael Wong, deputy financial secretary of the HKSAR government, said at a press briefing.

The HKSAR government will be covering all legal risks and uncertainties regarding insurance or other procedures after making the purchase, he said. The plan does not apply to the one Wang Fuk Court building unaffected by the fire.

The HKSAR government is considering dismantling the seven fire-hit buildings and repurposing the land for a park or community facilities, said Wong.