A regeneration project in east London worth 1.7 billion (HK$17.9 billion) that has sat undeveloped for years is said to be on the brink of collapse unless its mainland Chinese developers can guarantee completion.
In 2013, then mayor of London Boris Johnson awarded a contract to Beijing-based Advanced Business Parks to turn the 14.1-hectare site around the Royal Albert Docks into the third largest financial district in London with offices, shops and homes.
But ABP secured only a handful of tenants and halted construction more than two years ago.
The Greater London Authority has noted that the redevelopment project is divided into six phases, and the first phase of the project, which took up most of the time, was completed in April 2019.
In the same year, Xu Weiping, chairman of ABP, said he was reviewing the future of the Royal Docks project because uncertainty over Brexit was slowing sales.
The redevelopment project is being undertaken by a joint venture set up by Advanced Business Parks and China's state-owned CITIC Group, with Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group as an investor.
The project was highly regarded by China and the UK at the start, and the contract was signed in London in 2015 in the presence of President Xi Jinping and then-UK prime minister David Cameron.
CITIC Construction was appointed as main contractor to build the project, which was to be financed by China CITIC Bank and four major Chinese commercial banks. And ABP pledged to deliver on time and to a high standard.
The delays have now have prompted the Greater London Authority to set a March deadline for the final termination of the project. That means that ABP has lost control of the undeveloped land, and guarantor Dauphin Holdings must confirm in the coming weeks if it can complete the redevelopment.
To date no clarification has been given, The Sunday Times reported.
