Will anyone dare to bid for Hong Kong’s ‘next Central’ land site, with a US$18 billion price tag?

The future supply of grade A office space in West Kowloon – an area already being widely dubbed as “Hong Kong’s second Central” – may be dominated by the winning bidder of one mega government-owned commercial plot being sold next month, according to industry experts.

Sitting atop the West Kowloon terminal of the planned Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the huge land parcel is one of the four commercial hotel plots the government plans to sell through tender from April. The other three are being designated as hotel sites, at the city’s former airport area, Kai Tak.

The 632,923 square foot site, at the junction of Lin Cheung Road and Austin Road West, will yield a total gross floor area of 3.16 million square feet of office space, and is likely to be developed into three towers. 

It is estimated to be worth HK$95-142 billion (US$12.13-18.13 billion), and could become Hong Kong’s most expensive site ever put up by government tender.

“The winning developer of the lot will definitely become the largest supplier of new grade A office in Kowloon,” said John Siu, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield Hong Kong. 

“Such an important property project will have an influential impact on the area’s commercial leasing sector.”