The government has received 22 submissions indicating their interest to develop the three pilot areas of large-scale land disposal located in Hung Shui Kiu Ha Tsuen, Fanling North, and San Tin Technopole.
Speaking on a radio programme, Linn said the submissions were made by property developers, contractors, conglomerates and logistic companies. She said 60 percent were local companies, and the others were from the mainland.
With the different opinions received, the minister said she was confident about the bidding, and that the government would be able to write the tender terms more accurately.
“We expect to see some output in the next two years, including building or formation works. These can be rolled out gradually,” she said.
“We normally give developers six to seven years in total, although there were opinions that the time was insufficient. We have to strike a balance because we want to speed up development.”
She said the land parcels are expected to be put up for tender this year, while the one in the San Tin Technopole may only be ready next year, after the government repossesses the land.
Linn added that the government will not rule out the possibility of launching the tenders under a “two-envelope approach”, which means non-premium factors will be considered.
Meanwhile, the Development Bureau launched a two-year pilot scheme to relax the restrictions under land leases on public spaces of shopping malls, giving them more flexibility to host activities.
The minister said the scheme aims to boost the economy by encouraging shopping malls to make better use of their public spaces.