A START on Shun Tak Holdings' long-awaited $10 billion Belcher Gardens redevelopment project now looks close. Shun Tak intends to turn the ageing housing estate into a modern 10-tower residential development in Pokfulam Road, with a gross floor area of 2.7 million square feet. The developer has been negotiating with the Government for several years on the premium payable to redevelop the site, which is owned by a co-operative. Agreements with the Government are said to be about to be signed. Shun Tak reached agreement to compensate all incumbent residents from the co-operative on the Belcher Gardens site. Once these final problems have been ironed out, the wrecking ball will be put to work. Sun Hung Kai Properties is said to be interested in taking a 29 per cent stake in the project, and New World Development another 10 per cent. However, Shun Tak is expected to maintain a 70 per cent interest. The project is an important one for Shun Tak and should add significantly to the group's profits during the 1997 financial year, according to DBS property analyst Philip Tulk. Meanwhile, Shun Tak has won the approval of virtually all members of the same co-operative who live on the Chatham Gardens housing estate in Kowloon, which it plans to redevelop also.