MTRC sweetens the pot as Tung Chung tender opens

Aiden He

MTR Corporation (0066) has invited developers to submit bids for a large residential site in Tung Chung again after slashing the land premium by over 25 percent to HK$3.5 billion and scrapping the minimum profit sharing percentage of 15 percent.

The submissions will close at 2pm on July 28 and the railway operator has received 31 expressions of interest.

It is said that the land premium has been cut from HK$4.77 billion, or HK$5,072 per square foot to HK$3.55 billion, or HK$3,776 per sq ft - similar to that for the MTRC's Pak Shing Kok Ventilation Building property development in Tseung Kwan O tendered earlier this year.

Developers are also said to be allowed to propose the proportion of home sales shared with the corporation.

The MTRC rejected five tenders last November after receiving 35 expressions of interest for the residential development to be built on top of the Tung Chung Traction Substation. It has a maximum residential gross floor area of 87,288 sq m and could provide up to 1,800 residential units.

Valuations for the site range from HK$3.76 billion to HK$5.12 billion, or from HK$4,000 to HK$5,500 per sq ft.

In the primary market, developers raked in over HK$1.9 billion after selling all the 238 flats on offer in the first round of sales at Villa Garda I, phase 11B of Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O.

The 592-flat project is jointly developed by Sino Land (0083), K Wah International (0173) and China Merchants Land (0978).

They have released the fourth batch, which provides 128 flats at an average price per sq ft of HK$18,808 after discounts, around 0.5 percent costlier than the third.

In Tuen Mun, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) said phase 1A of Novo Land may be put on the market this month.