Hong Kong authorities to sell large land parcel next year to fast-track Northern Metropolis

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn also hints government may separately sell more land in last quarter of 2024-25 financial year

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One of the possible land parcels is located in Hung Shui Kiu. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 5:55pm, 27 Oct 2024Updated: 8:34pm, 27 Oct 2024

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 city in the last quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, after Chief Executive 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.