Price isn’t everything, but such errors are farcical
Sunday Morning Post, Hong Kong -December 2010
When the government decided to put the former marine police headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui out to tender – a historically important building on prime land in one of the most expensive parts of Hong Kong – it failed to survey it accurately. And so a building that was estimated to have 4,300 square metres of floor space turned out, after a proper assessment, to have almost a third more space.
Cheung Kong (Holdings) subsidiary Flying Snow won the tender with a HK$352.8 million bid. With so much funding at stake, it surely made its own estimate of the area involved. But it isn’t a bidder’s job to inform the government of inaccuracies, and after it won the tender and took over the site, it made the government aware of the mistake. Cheung Kong doesn’t need to answer for this error; the government does.
It’s now academic whether the site would have fetched more if the actual area of 5,610 square metres was in the tender document; it certainly would have allowed the public -and stock analysts -to better compare the deal with other prices in the vicinity. Land is the government’s biggest revenue earner and we need to make sure that we have the mechanisms in place to get the best deal possible every time.
And that doesn’t simply mean the highest price. As the community has clearly signalled, we’re increasingly concerned about the quality of our environment and the preservation of our heritage.
Historically, the 129-year-old buildings were significant to Hong Kong’s evolution as a trading centre, having at various times been a signalling post, battery and a place for mariners to stay. Before redevelopment, the tree-studded hill on which they were built was an oasis in the heart of one of our busiest tourist and shopping districts. What was created should have been mindful of these elements and ensured that they were preserved for the enjoyment of all.
Instead, most of the 193 trees were cut down or moved. The main building and a stable were converted into an exclusive hotel and bars and restaurants, restricting their access to visitors. A new structure built to appear as if it were part of the original complex was put up to house a row of shops selling high-priced goods. Fountains were built and marble flooring laid. Only the observation tower was retained for all-comers to look over. There is not much evidence of heritage preservation, conservation and open access.
So price isn’t everything. But whatever it is we as a community want from any land sale, we need to be sure we’ve done all our due diligence so we know exactly what we’re asking for – and what we’re selling.
Text reproduced with acknowledgement to the South China Morning Post and kindly submitted by David Kitching