Estimated price tag for Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis revealed as HK$224 billion – but expert expects final bill to be much heftier

Development Bureau tells lawmakers more accurate estimates will only be available once studies and designs are at a more ‘mature stage’

Veteran surveyor Lau Chun-kong says the government estimate is far from final and just a ‘small part of the total cost’

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The mega development will cover 30,000 hectares in the New Territories. Photo: May Tse

Published: 11:45pm, 22 May 2024Updated: 2:25am, 23 May 2024

A massive Hong Kong development near the border with mainland China will cost at least HK$224 billion (US$28.7 billion) to build, authorities have revealed for the first time, but an expert expects that sum will only be a fraction of the final bill.

The government told lawmakers on Wednesday the initial estimated cost of the proposed Northern Metropolis, a project that aims to turn 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land in the New Territories into a housing and economic powerhouse, while noting that some developments were at different stages of study.

“We would only be able to provide more accurate estimates on the expenditure of those projects when the relevant studies or design proceed to a more mature stage,” the Development Bureau said in a reply to a lawmaker’s inquiry.

Veteran surveyor Lau Chun-kong, a former member of the government-appointed task force on land supply, said the estimate was far from final.

“The latest price tag of the project is believed to be a small part of the total cost as it is just the beginning of the land resumption,” he said.

So far, the government has rolled out plans for most of the new development areas under the blueprint. It aims to announce the rest, covering a proposed New Territories North New Town, Ngau Tam Mei and Ma Tso Lung, by the end of the year.