Whampoa garden talk for Tsing Yi

CK Hutchison (0001) may turn Hongkong United Dockyards into another Whampoa Garden, mainland media has reported.

Located on Tsing Yi, the dockyard covers over 100,000 square meters.

At least 10,000 units can be expected to be built if the company applies to convert the site into residential use, assuming a five-times plot ratio and an average area of 500 square feet per unit.

There is no official development plan so far after the firm announced it has acquired the 50 percent interest of the dockyard it doesn't own from Swire Pacific (0019, 0087) on August 6. CK Hutchison refused to comment on the report.

The rumored plan may be the latest largest residential project of the CK group in Hong Kong after the completion of Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom in 1991.

Built on the site of the former Whampoa Dockyards, the estate covers 190,000 square meters and is one of the biggest private housing estates in Hong Kong. It consists of 88 residential blocks housing10,486 flats and a population of over 30,000, according to the 2016 by-census.

The rumor comes as Beijing tightens its grip over Hong Kong with a new mandate for local property barons: pour resources and influence into backing Beijing's interests, and help solve a potentially destabilizing housing shortage, three major developers and a SAR government adviser familiar with the talks said.

The message was delivered in closed-door meetings this year amid a broader effort to bring the city to heel under a sweeping national security law and make it more "patriotic," sources said.

It comes with the CK group focusing on overseas operations.

A recent overseas project is Convoys Wharf near London's River Thames, which will provide up to 3,500 homes. It is a mega residential and commercial project and is often regarded as another Tai Koo Shing in Britain.