*************************************************

    The Lands Department announced today (August 18) that Kowloon Inland Lot No 11167 located at the junction of Hoi Wan Road/Hoi Ting Road and Kowloon Inland Lot No 11168  at Hoi Ting Road, both in the West Kowloon Reclamation Area, had been successfully triggered for sale under the Application List System.  

    The sale of these two lots will be by an auction scheduled for September 27, 2005, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

    A Lands Department spokesman said that individual applications for these two adjacent lots were made by a single applicant and the Government had accepted the minimum guaranteed bid of $1.660 billion for Kowloon Inland Lot No 11167 and $2.090 billion for Kowloon Inland Lot No 11168.  These will be the opening bids at the auction.

    Kowloon Inland Lot No 11167 has a site area of 6,179 square metres and a minimum gross floor area of 27,806 square metres is required to be completed. Kowloon Inland Lot No 11168 has a site area of 7,397 square metres with a minimum gross floor area of 33,287 square metres to be completed.  Both sites are designated for non-industrial (excluding hotel, petrol filling station and godown) purposes.

    The spokesman noted that this was the first land auction of this financial year and was the first successful triggering of sites since the new measure to enhance the smooth operation of the Application List System announced on June 21, 2005.

    The spokesman added that increased flexibility had been introduced in the case of these two adjoining lots in that Government may, upon application by the successful bidders of both lots, consider the application for the modification of the respective lease conditions of the two lots to permit the shared use of recreational facilities, the shared use of car parking spaces or such other changes as may be necessary or appropriate to facilitate a joint development of both lots subject to additional conditions, payment of premium and administrative fees.

    The final Conditions of Sale for each lot will be available for distribution and uploaded to the Lands Department?s web site (http://www.info.gov.hk/landsd/) by September 9, 2005, when the particulars of the land auction will also be gazetted.

Ends/Thursday, August 18, 2005

NNNN