BILLIONS of dollars in land premiums are expected to be channelled into government funds during the next financial year as the territory reaps the rewards of land grants for the controversial container Terminal 9 (CT9) project.
While China and Britain are still locked in the controversy surrounding the validity of the project, negotiations between the Government and the consortiums for the land grant are going on.
The Secretary for Economic Services, Mrs Anson Chan Fang On-sang, had conceded that China's refusal to recognise the CT9 contract was making it difficult for consortiums to raise funds.
But she and other officials are tight-lipped on whether the financing problem would affect the Government's consideration in setting the premium level for the project whose land lease would be awarded by private treaty grant.
The Director of Buildings and Lands, Mr Darwin Chen, said the land income from the container terminal projects was not included in the Government's estimates for the current financial year ending March 31.
According to the Budget estimates, land premium generated by private treaty grants for the current year would be about $2.75 billion.
However, for the first six months of the year, only $354.7 million, or 13 per cent of the estimated total, has been collected.