SHKP to build three Ap Lei Chau blocks

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) will build three high-rise residential blocks on the Ap Lei Chau site it recently bought for HK$739.9 million.

A portion of the units in the identical 44-storey towers will be earmarked for sale to qualified buyers at discounted prices under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS).

Senior project manager David Au said the construction materials and finishes would be the same for the three blocks.

Residents would share the use of all facilities in the development and pay the same monthly management fees, estimated at HK$1.40 a square foot.

Mr Au said the project, providing a total of 1,056 units and 163 car parking spaces, would be no different from a normal private-sector development despite its mixed housing nature.

The Ap Lei Chau site is the first mixed housing lot sold under the Government's pilot scheme to group private and subsidised housing under one roof in an effort to improve the construction quality of the subsidised units.

The developer has to hand over 30 per cent of units, or saleable floor area, by random selection to the Government for sale as HOS flats. The remaining units can be sold freely at full market prices.

Analysts and developers have raised concerns that mixing the two categories of residents could have an impact on property prices.

Mr Au said his company was confident that the scheme would be successful, adding that it should not be a problem as long as buyers for the private units were paying the right prices.

He said SHKP's winning bid for the Ap Lei Chau project, its first involvement in subsidised housing development, was a show of its support to the Government's pilot scheme.

The site's attractive location, facing the Sham Wan marina in Aberdeen, was a draw, he said, adding that there was strong housing demand in urban areas. The Government's plan to build more tourism facilities in Aberdeen would also increase the area's appeal, he said.

The project will provide a total residential floor area of 648,000 sq ft and 16,100 sq ft for shops and a kindergarten, with a three-level car park and about 20,000 sq ft clubhouse.

The developer will reserve Block 3 as a pure private residential block while blocks 1 and 2 have a mix of private and subsidised flats.

About 80 per cent of the flats in blocks 1 and 2 will be two-bedroom units, with the rest having three-bedrooms.

The unit sizes in blocks 1 and 2 range from 455 sq ft to 589 sq ft of saleable area. Those in Block 3 are between 455 sq ft and 716 sq ft.

Mr Au said SHKP had committed itself to using better construction materials than requested by the Government in the tender.

All units would be equipped with split air-conditioning units in living rooms, bathtubs and a set of electrical appliances, which were not required under the tender.