The site, covering an area of around 150,000 square feet in the southern part of Yuen Long, is expected to be developed into some 2,000 residential units. The total value of the development is expected to be HK$10 billion upon completion, one of the sources said.
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Farmers forced to leave their land to make way for Hong Kong government’s redevelopment plan
Farmers forced to leave their land to make way for Hong Kong government’s redevelopment plan
China Resources and New World Development were unavailable for comment when contacted by the Post.
The cooperation between New World and China Resources comes a few days after the National Development and Reform Commission released the “Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone Master Development Plan”.
In it, Beijing has proposed to accelerate the development of the science and technology services industry, and strengthen cooperation with the science and technology industry in the planned Northern Metropolis area.
The development of the Northern Metropolis, spanning an area of 30,000 hectares, encompasses the Yuen Long and North districts, and includes existing new towns such as Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Fanling, and Sheung Shui.
Designed to address the long-standing issue of land and housing scarcity in Hong Kong, the Northern Metropolis is expected to provide significant land supply in the future, with the potential for more than half a million new residential units.
China Resources, a diversified group overseen by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), was registered in Hong Kong in 1938 under the name Liow & Co. It was restructured and renamed China Resources Company a decade later.
It is one of the key state-controlled enterprises headquartered in Hong Kong, with business operations spanning consumer products, food and drink, power, real estate, pharmaceuticals, cement, gas and finance.
China Resources Land, founded in 1994 and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange two years later, is one of the country’s major developers, with a focus on building houses and commercial projects in big cities.
This venture with New World Development represents China Resources Group’s first large-scale property investment in Hong Kong since it jointly developed Villa Esplanada Tsing Yi with Sun Hung Kai Properties in the late 1990s.
It is likely that China Resources will explore further cooperative projects with New World beyond residential projects, according to another source.
The latter has said it owns around 15 million square feet of agricultural land, mostly in North Fanling and Yuen Long.
This might involve forming joint ventures with partners such as stated-owned enterprises to develop property and monetise part of the company’s investment costs, it said. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is New World’s parent company.
New World’s debts are estimated at HK$111.5 billion after the disposal of infrastructure unit NWS.
