More than 200 people who bought flats in the failed Villa Pinada luxury housing project in Tuen Mun can heave a sigh of relief following last night's announcement that work to complete the 319-unit development will resume soon.
A $40 million deal with a bank is expected to be reached soon, according to Ernst & Young, the project's receiver. It said the deal would provide finance to complete the project.
It also said the bankers considered it in the interests of all parties that work should be resumed without delay and the receivers would ensure this occurred within two weeks. The receivers have executed a conditional letter of intent (LOI) with China Overseas Building Construction Ltd to complete construction at a cost of $40 million.
'The LOI is subject to the availability of sufficient funding to the receivers,' it said. 'Under the LOI, China Overseas agrees to complete the construction according to the standards stipulated in the original building contract and provide a one-year defects liability period.'
The work is expected to be completed in four months.
The Villa Pinada project, built by True Gold Investments, a subsidiary of locally listed Gold-Face Holdings, was put under receivership on May 16 after its developers failed to repay about $200 million in loans to the Bank of China.