Discovery Bay developer Hong Kong Resort Company to invest US$1.9 billion, the biggest in Lantau in the past decade

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Hong Kong Resort Company to pay a land premium of HK$5.24 billion for a 699,660 sq ft plot in Discovery Bay, which will yield 1.3 million sq ft of gross floor area

The proposed 1,400-unit project, the 19th phase of development at Discovery Bay, will take about seven to eight years to complete, HKR International executive says

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An aerial view of Discovery Bay, a sprawling residential area close to Hong Kong airport. Photo: Roy Issa

Sandy Li

Published: 7:30am, 18 Jan 2022Updated: 11:12am, 18 Jan 2022

Hong Kong Resort Company plans to invest HK$15 billion (US$1.9 billion) to build 1,400 flats in Discovery Bay, its biggest investment in more than a decade in Lantau.

The company, a joint venture between HKR International and Citic, is the developer of Discovery Bay, a sprawling residential community close to the city’s international airport.

The company agreed to a land premium of HK$5.24 billion for a 699,660 sq ft plot at Yi Pa Wan in the north of Discovery Bay in September, Lands Department records show. Land premium is the fee that developers pay to the government when a modification or change in land use results in a higher land value.

The site, according to HKR, will yield 1.3 million sq ft of gross floor area. It represents a plot ratio of 1.86 times, compared with the previous 0.16 times in Discovery Bay.

Violet Lam, general manager for business development and marketing at HKR International. Photo: Edmond So

“The negotiation with the government on the land premium payable took more than 10 years,” said Violet Lam, general manager for business development and marketing at HKR International. “It will be the biggest investment in Discovery Bay since the nearby 1,000-unit Siena phase one and two development, built on a one million sq ft site, was completed in 2002 to 2003.”