CY Leung, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Saturday said the government must balance the need for development to provide more land for homes with the desire to conserve the city's heritage and natural resources.

After attending a historic building revitalizing event, Leung told the reporters that the government attaches great importance to conservation, but it must also cope with the ever increasing population.

He said the northeast New Territories development plans are important for the future of Hong Kong in terms of providing land for building more homes.

He hoped people would study the information relating to the project the government released after three years' consultation work for a better understanding.

When responding to questions raised by the media, Leung said it is his aspiration to achieve universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election in 2017, and also that of the central government.

He reiterated that any arrangement for the Chief Executive election must follow the Basic Law and relevant decisions made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

He said the ongoing so-called civil referendum lacks legal backing, and legal professional bodies regard the "civic nomination" proposal as being non-compliant.

The government is compiling views on constitutional reform collected during the five-month consultation, which will be published as soon as possible, he said.