Six-Firm Consortium Including JD.com, China Overseas Land, Sino Land Wins HK$1.03 Billion Hung Shui Kiu Pilot Area Tender

A six-company joint venture has been awarded the HK$1.03 billion pilot area tender in Hong Kong's Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (HSK NDA), marking the first completed tender under the Northern Metropolis large-scale land disposal framework. The winning consortium's shareholders — via subsidiaries — are China Overseas Land & Investment Limited (0688), China Merchants Land Limited (0978), China Resources Land Limited (01109 group), China Tourism Group, JD.com, Inc. (09618), and Sino Land Company Limited (00083).

The tender opened on December 30, 2025, and closed on July 3, 2026 — a period of more than six months. The winning consortium outscored its sole competitor on both the price and non-price envelopes of the two-envelope evaluation system, according to government announcements.

Project Scope: Residential Sites and Smart Logistics Centre

The pilot area covers approximately 11 hectares within the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area in Yuen Long, New Territories. The winning consortium is responsible for grading and developing three residential sites and one Enterprise and Technology Park (E&TP) site.

The three residential sites together carry a gross floor area of approximately 169,000 square meters, with a development output of roughly 3,000 flats. The E&TP site will accommodate a smart modern logistics centre with a GFA of up to approximately 50,950 square meters. JD.com, Inc. is the logistics anchor enterprise for the centre.

A key commitment in the winning bid is the timeline for commencing logistics operations. The consortium has proposed to begin operating the logistics centre within 55 months, compared to the 96-month reference period specified in the tender documents — a compression of 41 months, or approximately 43%. The consortium also committed that operating area upon opening will be no less than 30% of the total GFA required under the tender. Government statements noted that the ability of an industry to commence operations quickly supports the broader advancement of the Northern Metropolis development.

The consortium is also required to construct recreational land, pedestrian streets, and walkways, to be handed back to the government in phases between 2030 and 2033. Total investment into the pilot area is approximately HK$16.8 billion — substantially above the HK$1.03 billion land premium.

Two-Envelope Scoring: Non-Price Criteria Dominated

The tender was conducted under a two-envelope system in which non-price proposals carried 70% of the total 100-point score, while the land premium accounted for the remaining 30%. The non-price evaluation comprised seven criteria: industry strategic importance (20%), introduction of leading enterprises (20%), development speed (20%), investment scale (15%), employment creation (15%), environmental, social, and governance proposals (5%), and experience in large-scale development projects (5%).

The structure reflects the government's stated intent to prioritize industrial quality, execution speed, and economic contribution over headline land price. The consortium's inclusion of JD.com, Inc. as a logistics sector anchor, alongside the state-owned enterprise developers China Overseas Land & Investment Limited, China Merchants Land Limited, and China Resources Land Limited, aligned directly with the criteria weighting strategic industries and the introduction of leading enterprises.

The Development Bureau Director General noted that the tender result demonstrates the project's capacity to facilitate cross-sector corporate collaboration, including large-scale local real estate developers as well as enterprises with deep roots in other industries.

Optional E&TP Sites and Adjacent Land Actions

The tender documents allowed bidders to elect to develop two additional E&TP sites within the pilot area, with a combined buildable GFA of up to approximately 224,000 square meters — roughly 4.4 times the GFA of the JD.com-anchored logistics centre. The winning consortium did not elect to develop these optional sites. Colliers noted that if the government intends to release additional E&TP land through the optional mechanism in future pilot area tenders, the bonus-point framework would require further refinement to increase its attractiveness.

Separately, the government announced at the same time as the tender award that two additional land parcels would be directly granted to Hung Shui Kiu Industrial Estate Limited for superstructure development and operation, increasing the approved site area from 23 hectares to approximately 27.5 hectares. Investment attraction work related to that land can commence immediately.

The winning consortium must sign a service agreement with the government, submit a performance bond, and arrange a bank guarantee within 14 days of the award. The full HK$1.03 billion land premium is payable within 28 days, with no option for installment payment.

Northern Metropolis Context

The Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area sits within Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis, a cross-border urban expansion plan that designates the area as a modern logistics and housing node. The HSK NDA pilot area tender is the first of its kind under the large-scale land disposal framework, and Colliers observed that the completed tender has already served a demonstration function, helping to accelerate the entry of suitable enterprises into the Northern Metropolis.

During the tender period, Colliers noted that companies from different industries began studying how they might participate in the bidding process — a signal that the pilot area model is generating broader market interest in the Northern Metropolis development program.

Sources

Colliers Hong Kong — Northern Metropolis Hung Shui Kiu Area Development Investment Attraction (August 31, 2026)