Exclusive | Hong Kong property: New World and China Merchants Shekou to jointly develop Northern Metropolis project

State-owned conglomerate China Merchants Shekou Group has formed a partnership with New World Development to jointly develop a mixed-use project in the Northern Metropolis, with the residential component set to provide some 2,000 flats.

The investment comes as Hong Kong pushes the Northern Metropolis as a new engine of Hong Kong’s future growth and to integrate the area’s development with that of Shenzhen and other cities in the Greater Bay Area.

“New World has a land bank of 15 million sq ft in the Northern Metropolis, much of which is well positioned and adjacent to the San Tin Technopole,” said Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, CEO of New World Development. “We will accelerate the release of the farmland value through different means, actively support the national planning, and inject energy into the development of the Northern Metropolis.”

This is New World’s second collaboration with a Chinese state-owned conglomerate in the Northern Metropolis, following its venture with China Resources Group last year.

The Northern Metropolis project will cover an area of about 150,000 sq ft, close to Fanling and Sheung Shui. It will have a total buildable floor area of over 1 million sq ft and is estimated by the companies to have a market value of HK$15 billion (US$1.9 billion), according to sources familiar with the matter.