More bidders for big Kwun Tong redevelopment after URA eases terms

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) succeeded in attracting more bidders for the latest phase of its biggest redevelopment project after it relaxed the terms for the sale of the land following an aborted auction earlier.

The six bidders for the site in Kwun Tong yesterday were Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Cheung Kong, Henderson Land Development, Great Eagle, a joint venture of Sino Land and Chinese Estates, and a consortium of Wheelock Properties, Nan Fung Development and New World Development.

Only four developers, including SHKP, Cheung Kong and Wheelock Properties, made bids last month, when the site was first put up for tender.

The URA withdrew the site then because none of the offers met its requirements. But as it is one of the few large residential projects available for tender this year, a failure by the URA to award the site to a developer would have put a big dent in the government's target for building new homes.

The authority was forced to remove its requirement for a minimum bid of HK$8 billion and revise other terms of the sale.

Stewart Leung Chi-kin, chairman of Wheelock Properties, said: "We joined the tender with our partners because the URA lowered the threshold by removing the HK$8 billion requirement."

Leung said he thought developers would submit better offers than the first time around but none higher than HK$8 billion.