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Hong Kong property
Business

Coronavirus disrupts Hong Kong’s property industry as construction on 90 per cent of projects delayed

  • Delivery of keys to buyers of units Wheelock’s Malibu project and Emperor International’s Seaside Castle has been delayed between three and six months
  • For the first time ever, no construction was started on new projects in the first two months of the year, Buildings Department data shows

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Construction work progresses on Wheelock Properties’ Malibu project in Lohas Park, as of March 28, 2018. The developer has the delayed the project’s handover to buyers by two months to August this year. Photo: Martin Chan
Lam Ka-sing
The Covid-19 outbreak has thrown a spanner in the works of Hong Kong’s property industry. The delivery of at least 1,900 homes to buyers will be delayed, while some developers risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in booking sales, as the pandemic disrupts construction activity in the city due to supply shocks and a slow down in government approvals.

The completion date for Wheelock Properties’ Malibu project in Lohas Park, Emperor International’s Seaside Castle in Tuen Mun and a joint venture development between Chevalier Group and Urban Renewal Authority in Kowloon, have been postponed between two and six months.

The development comes after data from the Buildings Department showed on Monday that no construction was started on new projects in the first two months of this year, the first time since records started in 2002.

Meanwhile, design consultancy Arcadis said that the progress of more than 90 per cent of projects in the city was delayed in February and March by varying degrees as workers could not return from China due to the lockdown after the Lunar New Year holiday and shortage of raw materials as factories were closed to contain the outbreak in mainland China.

Francis Au, Arcadis’ head of cost and commercial management for the Greater Bay Area, said that in the past construction work on most projects would be at 80 to 90 per cent capacity within one to two weeks of the Lunar New Year holiday. “Delays on projects are almost certain,” said Au, adding that the Covid-19 outbreak is likely to have a long-term impact on the construction market.

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