A mass housing project is taking shape near the wetlands in Hong Kong’s New Territories, with the potential to accommodate 25,850 residents when it is completed in 2026, a major step towards easing the acute shortage in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) plans to build 9,940 flats at Tam Mei in Yuen Long, according to applications filed with Hong Kong’s Town Planning Board. The project comprises 36 residential towers of between 10 and 29 floors each, translating to about 400 square feet (37 square metres) for each unit on average, according to the plan. The number of flats being planned, equivalent to Hong Kong’s total home sales in the first seven months of 2021, is about the size of Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom, making it one of the city’s largest residential communities. The push to develop the area – currently on loan to the city government as a community isolation facility for Covid-19 patients – follows the extension of a transport network to promote Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s Northern Metropolis project . The project is near the planned Au Tau subway station of the Northern Link, about 800 meters away from the station. It takes 10 minutes to reach the “Hong Kong Silicon Valley” San Tin Technopole, which aims to create 148,000 IT-related jobs. “Now that the Northern Link construction has been revealed, the land should yield residential development to solve Hong Kong’s housing problem, which is better,” said SHKP’s project director Spencer Lu. SHKP plans to include nearly three hectares of wetlands within the Tam Mei project to balance conservation with its property development. The project includes land that has been earmarked for a primary school, and elderly care homes and amenities. The northern part of the project, currently being used as Hong Kong’s community isolation facility – has been permitted for transformation into a large-scale retail outlet in the early years, according to the plan. The southern part has received permission for the construction of a hotel, and is currently mainly a brownfield site for large open-air warehouses. The Koon Chun Sauce Factory sits in the middle of the site. SHKP said it reached an agreement with Koon Chun to relocate its factory to the southern region of the site. With a plot ratio of 2.2 to 2.5 times for the residential part, that will account for 4 million sq ft in gross floor area. The non-residential part, with a plot ratio of less than 0.1 time, will yield 150,158 sq ft. The development site will measure 2.11 million sq ft, including housing development that spans 1.75 million sq ft, the relocated sauce factory and a school. SHKP claims to be the most active developer in converting farmland to residential use. SHKP is experienced in balancing conservation and development, including the construction and rapid sales of Wetland Seasons Park and Wetland Seasons Bay next to the Hong Kong Wetland Park. The applications will be subject to three weeks of consultation, and is expected to be discussed in a Planning Board meeting in mid-July, when it may be approved or rejected, according to the Board’s website. The developer wants the approval process to be fast and completed this year, and aims to complete the first phase of the project by 2026 and 2027, said Rebecca Wong, planning director of project planning and development department of the developer. The ownership of agricultural land in the New Territories is extremely fragmented, said the developer. It called on the government to adopt a more flexible approach in the future to facilitate more land planning adjustment projects and make better use of land resources.