Revision of plot ratios to provide more open space
A redevelopment plan for Kwun Tong which boasts up to 30 per cent green space and with its plot ratio cut back to 7.5 has been submitted to the Town Planning Board.
The Urban Renewal Authority said after deducting the area for government offices and facilities, the new ratio was, in effect, 6.9 and was at the limit for the HK$30 billion project, which will take an estimated 12 years to complete.
Outlining details of the scheme, the authority's managing director Billy Lam Chung-lun said the Kwun Tong project was designed to meet mainstream resident opinion after two years of consultation.
With an area of 5.35 hectares, it was the biggest and most complicated project undertaken by the authority, and the new proposed plot ratio could lose the authority up to HK$3 billion if property prices fell, Mr Lam said.
'The internal return rate is four to five per cent, which is the extreme limit we can bear. If the market for multi-purpose property remains, we break even. But if prices drop 10 per cent and remain at that level for a period of time, we could lose HK$3 billion.'
