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SCMP Reporter

THE Ma family has announced plans for a $3 billion, high-rise commercial and residential property development on protected farmland at Tai Po.

  The low-profile family plans to seek government approval for change of use of the 450,000 sq ft site bordering Serenity Park in Tai Po San Wai Tsai which is classified as provisional green-belt land.

  This classification permits change of use should government planners feel it is appropriate.

  Fanson Real Estate Consultants, the agent overseeing the planning and development of the scheme, expects a $1 billion land premium will be demanded by the government to allow the plan to go ahead.

  It estimated overall finance for the proposed project, including construction and land premium costs, to exceed $3 billion.

  The Ma family has been approached by three companies seeking to develop the site on their behalf, including two mainland groups.

  Even so, the family is inviting proposals from other developers.

  The family has for some time held control of the several parcels of land that make up the total site. It has kept a very low profile while accumulating a significant portfolio of properties and plots of land in Hongkong, China and the United States, where some of the family now live.

  Mr Jimmy Ho, Fanson executive director, said: ''The project, if successfully concluded, will be one of the largest developments in the area and a future index for the property market.''   It was hoped construction could begin in two to three years with completion by 1997.

  The development would comprise a string of residential tower blocks above shopping malls.

  If the proposal is accepted, the Ma family intends to form a joint-venture holding company with its selected partner to oversee the project.

  A separate independent company would be created comprising the Ma family, the developer and Fanson, to supervise day-to-day matters.

  The family plans to finance land premium costs through bank loans.

  Tai Po has been rapidly developing as a self-contained new town.

  It has proved to be a popular location despite its remoteness, with its own Kowloon-Canton railway station and just a 25 minute drive from Central in good traffic by road and tunnel.

  Mrs Julie Baldwin, valuation director at property consultancy Colliers Jardine, expected the recent rapid growth seen in other New Territories towns such as Ma On Shan to be echoed in Tai Po over the next few years.

  ''Tai Po is likely to be the next in line to expand,'' she said. ''It is still fairly small compared to Sha Tin, for instance.''   One of the biggest factors that has inhibited Tai Po's growth to date has been a lack of job opportunities in the town.

    It is essentially a factory centre, with an industrial park on the northern edge of Tolo Harbour built with the aim of attracting overseas companies to invest in hi-tech industry.

  This has been achieved with varying success and many residents have resorted to looking for work elsewhere, mainly in Sha Tin.



$3b high-rise development plan for Tai Po farmland