A consortium of mainland Chinese firms and a local property company has been awarded a HK$1.03 billion tender for the first major land parcel to be developed as part of the Northern Metropolis mega project in the northern New Territories.
However, the fact that the consortium will operate only one of the three tech parks on the plot, with the government to oversee the others, may indicate that the market remains “cautious” about investing in the infrastructure project, a former lawmaker said.
The six enterprises, consisting of both state-owned and private firms, have projected an investment of about HK$16.8 billion in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which is expected to create 6,000 jobs and provide 3,000 residential flats, according to a Monday statement.
The six-company joint venture, HSK New Development, comprises subsidiaries of China Overseas Land & Investment, China Merchants Land, China Resources Land (Overseas), China Tourism Group, and e-commerce giant JD.com, as well as Hong Kong developer Sino Land.
The 11-hectare Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen site is the first “large-scale land disposal” in the Northern Metropolis to be tendered. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said in the Monday statement that the plot “is a project of considerable scale with a long investment period.”
“The consortium of successful tenderers encompasses not only major enterprises that have long participated in local real estate development, but also market leaders that are well-established in other industries with undeniable experience and capability,” Linn said.
The firms had pooled their strengths to “cast a vote of confidence” in the Northern Metropolis, she said.
The Northern Metropolis is a sprawling infrastructure project set to transform 30,000 hectares of land in rural Hong Kong near the border with mainland China into a tech hub, providing more homes and deepening the city’s integration with neighbouring Shenzhen.
The government adopted a “two-envelope” system when assessing the tenders, with a 30 per cent weighting for bids’ monetary value and 70 per cent for non-monetary benefits such as creating jobs and bringing in high-quality enterprises.
Remaining cautious
The joint venture will be responsible for developing three residential sites that can yield about 3,000 flats, as well as an Enterprise and Technology Park. They will be granted to the consortium on 50-year leases.
The consortium will also build a large-scale modern logistics hub within the park, with e-commerce titan JD.com positioned as the anchor tenant.
HSK New Development will also complete site formation works for two other tech parks totalling 4.5 hectares, though their development and operation will be conducted by the government via a firm set up for this project, the Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park Company.
The winning bidder will also be responsible for getting another plot spade-ready for government use. Site formation works should be completed, and the plot returned to the government, by the end of 2028.
In a Facebook post, former lawmaker Edward Lau said that the tender result provides “clear evidence” of a vote of confidence in the Northern Metropolis. But he also noted that only one of the three tech park sites would be managed by the consortium, indicating that the market “remains cautious” about long-term investment.
Lau Chun-kong, chair of the Land Policy Panel at the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, said on an RTHK radio programme on Tuesday that the consortium assuming responsibility for one tech park site is a positive outcome.
