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looking for. 1. Bidders fail 3 times to trigger land auctions
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$9m for park that may be rubble in 2 years
1.
Bidders fail 3 times to trigger land auctions
CHLOE LAI and PETRINA CHAN , SCMP 16 June 2005
At least three recent attempts to get the government to release land for auction have failed, but developers remain divided on whether regular auctions should be resumed.
An unnamed developer failed twice to trigger an auction of the former government supplies depot in Oil Street, North Point. At 157,875 sq ft, it is one of the biggest sites on the government's list of land for auction, and estimated to be worth at least $9 billion.
The plot ratio - the formula that determines development density - is 8.42, and the site can hold 1,200 flats measuring 800 sq ft and a shopping mall. An earlier bid in April also failed.
Wharf Estate Development said its bid for a 79,148 sq ft site in Mount Kellett Road had also been rejected early this month. The low-density site can hold 14 houses of 3,000 sq ft each. An attempt in March also failed.
The bids failed to meet the confidential minimum prices the government set for an auction to be triggered. The developer who triggers the auction must buy the site at the proposed price if no higher bids are received.
The chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association, Stanley Ho Hung-sun, said most developers wanted regular auctions to resume. But "there are two to three developers against this idea. They don't want it because they have huge land banks".
The casino mogul urged the government to lower the minimum land prices.
Apparently referring to the controversial, record-breaking sale of a penthouse at The Arch in West Kowloon, Mr Ho added that $30,000 per sq ft was ridiculously expensive for everyone, including overseas investors.
"Stabilising supply is in the public interest - no one wants the bubble we had seven years ago to appear again," he said.
Mr Ho said he had met Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yueng several times over land supply and received positive feedback.
No residential sites have been put up for auction under the list system since October and no developers submitted applications for any site in the first two months of this year.
Wharf director Ricky Wong Kwong-yiu said he hoped the government would be more flexible on the minimum prices. He also supported resuming regular auctions.
"Records show developers are progressive on getting land, so the government just needs to be a bit flexible to have sites put up for auction," he said.
Cheung Kong (Holdings), which is building a hotel next to the former government supplies depot, did not respond to questions about whether it was behind last month's attempts to trigger an auction.
2.
$9m for park that may be rubble in 2 years
BENJAMIN WONG , SCMP 16 June 2005
An artist's impression of the lantern path, which will form one of the main features of the park.
Plans for a $9 million, 12,000 square metre waterfront park that could have a life of less than two years were unveiled yesterday, to praise from a government adviser on harbourfront improvements.
The park will include a 400-metre Avenue of the People, where people will be encouraged to leave their handprints and signatures, much as celebrities do on the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui. Another feature is a 1km path lit by giant lanterns, which artists and the public will have a hand in painting.
Vincent Ng Wing-shun, chairman of the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee, praised the proposals for integrating environmental protection with public involvement. But the park will last only until work starts on the West Kowloon Cultural District, now pencilled in for April 2007.
The plans were submitted to the committee's subcommittee on the Harbour Plan Review.
The brains behind the project is Raymond Fung Wing-kee, a senior architect in the Architectural Services Department. He said exact arrangements for the handprint idea in the Avenue of the People had yet to be worked out.
"The design will be consistent with the themes of visual and performing arts of the West Kowloon Cultural District," he said.
The promenade will also feature areas of greenery and a seaside viewing deck combining alfresco dining, a children's play area and shops, similar to the waterfront near Sai Kung pier.
Many of the objects used in the park, such as benches, will be discarded items from other parks, Mr Fung said, since there was no point putting new equipment in a temporary park. |
