Hong Kong – In-situ land exchange arrangements for Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area to invite applications

     The Lands Department (LandsD) issued today (February 1) Practice Note No. 1/2024 inviting in-situ land exchange applications for designated development sites within the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (HSK/HT NDA). The Practice Note is available on the department’s website (www.landsd.gov.hk), which provides the location of sites available for in-situ land exchange applications, application criteria and conditions, application deadlines, etc.

     In accordance with the in-situ land exchange arrangements for the Enhanced Conventional New Town Approach (ECNTA) as revised and promulgated in end last year (please refer to Practice Note No. 13/2023), the scope for land exchange applications this time covers some of the sites planned for private residential development (about 7.1 ha), commercial development (about 17.7 ha) and mixed residential and commercial development (about 4.4 ha) within the NDA, as well as some modern industry sites (about 15.6 ha) mainly for logistics and storage uses, etc. The Government has considered multiple factors in designating specific sites within the NDA for in-situ land exchange. The factors include whether the relevant sites would need to be reserved for Government’s works or intended for financing railway projects under the “Rail-plus-Property” model; the area of government land within a development site; and policy considerations on whether the Government intends to adopt means other than in-situ land exchange for industry development at the sites concerned, etc. In addition, the facilitating measure for landowners owning 90 per cent or above of private land within a development site to carry out consolidated development is also applicable to the land exchange applications this time. The Government hopes that these revised arrangements could better leverage market forces to enhance the speed of developing the Northern Metropolis and bring about a better development layout of the NDA. 

     The land exchange arrangement would cover sites currently available for applications within the Second Phase and Remaining Phase developments of the NDA. The deadline for submitting land exchange applications in respect of the Second Phase development is April 30, 2024, while the deadline for acceptance of binding basic terms offer (with premium) is March 31, 2025. Applicants may choose standard rates for premium assessment, as an alternative to the conventional case-by-case assessment mechanism. The applicable level of standard rates will be announced later this year. If an application cannot be concluded within the specified deadline, the Government will proceed to initiate the land resumption procedures in taking forward the NDA development so as not to delay the overall works programme.

     As regards sites available for in-situ land exchange within the Remaining Phase development, the designated development sites are mainly in the proximity to existing roads and engineering infrastructure. In order to tie in with the overall works programme, LandsD will accord priority to processing land exchange applications involving development sites within the Second Phase development. As for applications within the Remaining Phase development, the deadlines for submitting applications and the acceptance of binding basic terms offer (with premium) will be separately announced later.

     The HSK/HT NDA is situated within the High-end Professional Services and Logistics Hub of the Northern Metropolis, which will supply land for housing, commercial, industry and community developments. The site formation and engineering infrastructure works of the First Phase development commenced in 2020, with the first population scheduled for moving in at the fourth quarter of this year, mainly to the Dedicated Rehousing Estate. Subject to funding approval by the Legislative Council, the site formation and engineering infrastructure works of the Second Phase development is planned to commence progressively from the first half of 2024.
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     Upon full development, the HSK/HT NDA will provide about 66 700 housing units accommodating a population of about 183 900, and about 6.4 million square metres of gross floor area for various industrial and commercial activities. Also, about 150 000 job opportunities will be created.