Hong Kong authorities aim to sell the first sizeable parcel of land in the Northern Metropolis next year in a bid to encourage the private sector to expedite development of the megaproject in the New Territories, a minister has said.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also hinted on Sunday that the government could separately sell more land in the last quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, after city leader John Lee Ka-chiu earlier announced fresh measures to boost the property market.
On the megaproject front, the minister said authorities would seek the private sector’s views on its large-scale, land-disposal pilot scheme, which involves developers bidding for a site of 10 to 20 hectares (24.7 to 49.4 acres) to build private properties and public facilities.
“We hope the public-private partnership can save the government’s money in constructing the infrastructure … We hope to seek views from the market and make some reasonable modifications,” she told a TV programme.
“We expect the chance of success to be high. But if we fail, we may need to use public money to work on the projects.”
The government had identified three large-scale land parcels for use in the pilot scheme, with the sites located in Hung Shui Kiu, Fanling North and San Tin.