MTR quick to seek tenders for Yuen Long station development

In an unprecedented move, the government has prompted MTR Corp to start the tender process for this quarter's largest site within two days of announcing the quarterly land sale programme.

Developers have been invited to express interest for the site, in Yuen Long station along the West Rail from today - the first step in the tender process - as the government pushes ahead with the plan to cool the property market.

"It is a bit of a surprise as the government only just announced this quarter's land sale programme on Monday. It shows the government's determination to speed up land supply," said Alvin Lam, a director at Midland Surveyors.

Normally it takes at least a couple of weeks for tender processes to start after such announcements. With environmental group Green Sense threatening to apply for a judicial review to block the Yuen Long development, industry experts said the government might have urged MTR Corp to fast-track the tender.

The 421,000 square foot site would be able to house six residential towers with 124,000 sq ft of retail space. It would also provide at least 1,876 residential units with a total floor area of 1.36 million sq ft and is scheduled for completion in 2022.

The site would account for 36 per cent of the 5,100 units to be supplied by the land sold in the July-September period.