HONG Kong Ferry is expected to pay about $1.8 billion in government premiums to get the green light for construction of a six-storey commercial and residential complex on top of the recently-completed ferry piers in Central.
Analysts said the figure represented an average charge of about $3,200 per square foot for the 590,000 sq ft development, which they said was good news for Hong Kong Ferry.
According to their projections, if Hong Kong Ferry sold all the commercial and residential space, it would reap total gross revenue of more than $7.5 billion.
They said that given the development's prime location, it would not be unreasonable for Hong Kong Ferry to sell the space at about $13,500 per sq ft.
With total construction costs estimated to be about $4 billion, Hong Kong Ferry could reap a pre-tax profit of about $4.5 billion, according to their projections.
This will be music to the ears of Hong Kong Ferry's president and chief executive, Peter Wong Man-kong, who lamented the poor returns for the ferry service during Tuesday's annual general meeting.
