The Government today said it will adjust the conditions of sale for the tender of two sites in Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen for multistorey buildings for modern industries (MSBs) and extend their tender period to July 25.

The original tender closing date of Hung Shui Kiu Town Lot No. 10 and Yuen Long Town Lot No. 545 was tomorrow. 

Given the substantial investment outlay the project would involve and the latest market conditions, some potential bidders recently indicated that they hoped the Government would consider making some adjustment to the tender conditions.

Taking into account market feedback and without deviating from the original policy intent, the Government decided to adjust some of the conditions of sale for the two MSB sites. 

Upon completion of the MSB, the successful bidding enterprise will lease part of the floor space to the Government at a nominal rent for 10 years. The Government or its appointed agent will manage and rent out the floor space to brownfield operators affected by government development projects. 

This arrangement will replace the requirement under the original conditions of sale that the enterprise must permanently assign designated floor space to the Government at nil cost.

In other words, the revised conditions will allow ownership of the MSB to be fully consolidated in the hands of the enterprise being awarded the site. 

Secondly, the Government will adjust the minimum floor space required to be leased to the Government within the 10-year period to around 46,000 sq m for the Hung Shui Kiu Lot and around 29,000 sq m for the Yuen Long Lot.

In other words, the basis for calculating the floor space to be leased to the Government is changed from the maximum gross floor area (GFA) permissible to the minimum GFA permissible on the lot.

Thirdly, the floor loading requirement of the floor space to be leased to the Government for the Hung Shui Kiu Lot will be adjusted from 30 kilonewtons per sq m to 25 kilonewtons per sq m, same as the floor loading requirement for the Yuen Long Lot, thereby achieving greater consistency with the requirement for industrial buildings in general and reduce the construction cost.

The revised land sale documents for the two sites will be available online in early April, while the extension will give interested bidders sufficient time to prepare for their tender submission, the Government added.