CHEUNG Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa have won the property development rights in a joint venture with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) to build a commercial complex at the Hunghom reclamation site.
The multi-billion dollar project is set to strengthen further Cheung Kong's and Hutchison's dominance in the Hunghom area.
A joint announcement issued yesterday said the KCRC and an equally-owned vehicle of Cheung Kong and Hutchison, both controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, had entered into a joint venture agreement on December 15 for the project.
To be built on about five hectares of land, the project will have a floor area of about 1.4 million square feet.
It will feature a 600-room hotel with a gross floor area of 430,560 sq ft and three office towers with a total of about 753,500 sq ft. The remainder will include a shopping arcade, cinema, car parks and other facilities. The project is expected to complete by 1999.
Officials of KCRC, Cheung Kong and Hutchison were not available for further comment on the project yesterday.
Analysts estimated the project to be worth $6 billion to $8 billion on current market rates, assuming the value for each hotel room at $3.5 million and office premises selling at $6,000 to $8,000 per square foot.
