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Sophia Wong

The government has reduced the proposed population density in Tseung Kwan O in an attempt to ease land and housing supply.

Property players welcomed the move, and a consortium led by Cheung Kong (Holdings) was considering revising its development scheme at Tiu Keng Leng Station, on the Tseung Kwan O MTR line, to maximise the market value.

The Territory Development Department initiated a feasibility study in 2001 on further development and reclamation in Tseung Kwan O to accommodate up to 520,000 people by 2011. The department at first proposed reclamation of up to 72 hectares to house 77,000 people.

However, this plan was scrapped as the public opposed increased density and the large scale of the reclamation.

Stephen Li Tin-sang, a senior engineer in the Territory Development Department, said the proposal for the highest development capacity to accommodate more than 495,000 people in Tseung Kwan O had been dropped due to public concern about overcrowding.

He said the department was inclined to scale down the capacity of future developments in Tseung Kwan O to provide a better living environment.

'We are considering reducing the highest permitted plot ratio of 7.5 to an average of between 3.5 and 4.5 for future land grants in the southern part of the town centre,' he said.

Houses, low-rise apartments or hotels on waterfronts could be among development options, he added.

He expected the Tseung Kwan O development feasibility study to be completed by the end of this year, pending further public consultation.

He said the government had no concrete development schedule as housing demand had contracted in recent years.

Nan Fung Development project director Donald Choi welcomed the decision to scale back development capacity in Tseung Kwan O.

'The density in Tseung Kwan O is already too high. The future growing population can be accommodated in other areas, such as the northwest New Territories where West Rail is under construction,' he said.

Diversified development in Tseung Kwan O could maximise land value, he said, adding that building hotels and other tourist attractions in the future town centre were viable options.

But he said houses or low-rise residential development were not suitable since the densely populated area could hardly attract high-end buyers.

Nan Fung and Cheung Kong have formed a consortium which has secured a residential and retail development package at Tiu Keng Leng Station, tendered by MTR Corp last year. The project, with a developable floor area of 2.7 million square feet, could involve an investment of up to HK$6 billion.

Mr Choi said the consortium was considering reducing the size of flats in phase two of the two-phase project, and increasing their quantity to maximise profits. The original project design altogether comprises about 4,000 residential units.

Phase one, providing about 1,600 units due to be finished by 2005, could be available for pre-sale next year, he said. The consortium had not yet agreed on the land premium for the phase two, pending revision of the master layout plan, he added.

Mr Choi estimated the residential land value in Tseung Kwan O was about HK$600 per square foot, given that the average flat value was about HK$2,500 per square foot.

Goldrich Planners and Surveyors director Francis Lau Tak said the present building density in Tseung Kwan O was too high to cater for the high-end residential market. Developers would prefer a higher plot ratio in the town centre so they could build higher apartments for better views and higher prices.

'It will be better to adopt the stepped-height concept and decline the building height towards the waterfront,' he said.

He suggested allowing medium density, or a plot ratio of about five, for mass residential development along the railway line to maximise land value and reclaim the least amount of land.

He was not optimistic about the prospects for the Tseung Kwan O residential market. Flat prices were under pressure with the prospect of excess supply in the foreseeable future, he said.

Under the latest development feasibility study, the southern part of the town centre would accommodate a maximum of 62,000 people, on 37 hectares of residential land, when the total population in Tseung Kwan O would have expanded to 495,000 and up to 55 hectares of land was reclaimed.

The lowest-density development option would be to accommodate 32,000 people, on 25 hectares of residential land without reclamation, if the total population target were reduced to 460,000. The present outline zoning plan proposes developing 20 hectares of residential land to house 55,000 people within a total population target of 480,000.

Graphic: UNIT23gsp



Planners slash Tseung Kwan O density levels