Tagged: Cheung Sha
More than 50 luxury homes tipped for Cheung Sha sites
More than 50 luxury homes, with a value of up to HK$1.86 billion, could be built on the Cheung Sha sites due to be auctioned this year.
The three vacant plots, all within 1 km of the San Shek Wan roundabout, are zoned for low-density residential housing.
They have been included in the 2018-19 government land auction, announced last week, and are certain to be snapped up for upscale residential development.
The biggest site, Lot 738, will yield approximately 93,000 sq feet of floor space, equivalent to 30 to 40 bungalows, according to analysis by the Economic Times..
The 2.15 ha site surrounds the Cheung Sha police base on South Lantau Road, abutting Acacia Villas. On current market valuations it is worth anywhere between HK$830 million to HK$1.2 billion yuan.
Nearby is Lot 765, 2,730 sq metres, in a cul de sac on the coastal side of South Lantau Road. An adjacent site sold last year for a record HK$210 million, or $19,667 per sq ft.
It has potential floor space of about 12,000 sq feet, enough for five or six homes. Its estimated value is approximately HK$140 million to HK$210 million.
The third site, Lot 766, is between the YWCA camp and San Shek Wan village.
The 5,770 sq-metre plot has potential floor space of up to 25,000 sq ft, enough to build ten to 12 three-storey houses, worth HK$300-450 million in current prices.
With its ocean views, beach proximity and convenience to Tung Chung and the new Macau bridge, Cheung Sha has become Lantau’s luxury hotspot,
Apart from the well-known Whitesands and Botanica Bay developments, the government has sold three other plots for high-end development in recent years.
Three S. Lantau sites up for sale in govt land auction
Three South Lantau plots, including a two-hectare site in Cheung Sha, have been slated for auction in the government’s annual land sale programme.
The three sites are all zoned for low-density residential use.
They are also all within 1 km of the San Shek Wan roundabout, the closest point on South Lantau to Tung Chung and the HK-Macau bridge, and are almost certain to become high-end residential developments.
The largest site, Lot 738 in DD 332 (above), covers the area surrounding the police base at Upper Cheung Sha, running right up to the Acacia Villa apartments.
The 2.15 ha plot is the fifth biggest of all of the 32 properties in the Lands Department sale programme.
Across South Lantau Road is a 2,730 sq metre plot, Lot 765, just next door to a 2,480 sq metre site that sold for a record HK$210 million last August (the site remains undeveloped).
At nearby San Shek Wan is the third site, Lot 766, just east of the YWCA camp, which is 5,770 sq metres.
All sites are zoned Residential 4, which stipulates a maximum plot ratio of 0.8.
Photo (top): Lot 766, Cheung Sha
Another dead porpoise found on a Lantau beach
Another finless porpoise has been found dead on a Lantau beach, taking the total to six deceased dolphins and porpoises since Chinese New Year.
Hong Kong Ocean Park Conservation Foundation says the decomposed body of a porpoise was discovered on Lower Cheung Sha Wan Beach on Saturday.
The porpoise, about 67 centimeters long, was taken to Ocean Park for further examination in order to understand the cause of death, Ming Pao reports.
The body of a stranded juvenile porpoise was discovered on Tai Long Wan Beach on February 20 – one of four deaths over the Lunar New Year.
Apart from one porpoise that was most likely struck by a marine propeller, most of the deaths appear to be a result of stranding.
Photo: Apple Daily/Ocean Park Conservation Foundation
Shotgun cartridges likely ‘fell off a boat’
Police believe the shotgun cartridges found on Upper Cheung Sha beach most likely fell off a passing boat.
After initially finding 19 shells last weekend, a search by police and LCSD cleaning staff located another eight.
A police spokesman said the recovered unused shells were increasingly rusty – a sign they had been in the water for some time.
The unused shells, made by Italian firm RC Cartridges, have undergone forensic analysis but police have have been unable to determine their source.
“They probably fell off a boat, accidentally or otherwise,” the spokesman said.
Police probe shotgun cartridges found on Cheung Sha beach
Police are examining 19 live shotgun cartridges found on Upper Cheung Sha Beach on the weekend.
A local resident walking his dog early Saturday morning found 15 cartridges midway between the low and high tide marks.
A full search on Sunday found another four cartridges, Lantau police said.
The casings, manufactured by Italian firm RC Cartridges, showed signs of rust but were unused.
They are not used by any Hong Kong law enforcement branch.
The shells have been sent to the forensic firearms division to ascertain their purpose.
Anyone with information can call Lantau police on 3661 1932.
Last year local hikers discovered 800 bullets on remote Nga Ying Shan near Tai O – most likely blanks used in a British military training exercises 30 years ago.
Five Lantau beaches added to priority cleanup list
Five more South Lantau beaches to the government’s priority foreshore cleaning roster.
From now on Cheung Sha, Tong Fuk, Shap Long, Ham Tin and Tai Long Wan are among 29 beaches that will be serviced by Marine Department cleaners.
Pui O, Fan Lau and Tai O on Lantau’s south and western coast, and Sam Pak Wan and Nim Shue Wan near Discovery Bay, were already on the list.
The Environmental Protection Department updated the list of coastal sites based on “factors including cleanliness, the amount of refuse collected, cleaning frequency, geographical and hydrodynamic conditions, public accessibility, ecological value and concerns raised by the public,” a government statement said.
A dozen beaches were dropped list because of “sustained improvements in their cleanliness,” the statement said.
South Lantau residents organised multiple beach cleanup operations last year after two typhoons and a palm oil spill.
Cleanup operations on the priority beaches have increased 50% since the list was created two years ago, the government says.
It says Hong Kong is now working with 13 cities in the Pearl River catchment to monitor real-time rainfall data to help predict which beaches might be hit with heavy volumes of marine rubbish.
A notification system has been activated seven times.
The Marine Department’s contractor has been operating 80 scavenging vessels to clean up floating refuse in Hong Kong waters since October.
The contractor’s fleet includes six new quick response workboats and two scavenging catamarans equipped with mechanical devices to increase the efficiency of clean-up operation in narrow water channels and to enhance scavenging service in offshore waters. In addition, the number of foreshore cleaning teams has been increased from two to three in order to step up efforts in cleaning up the foreshore areas.
Another Cheung Sha luxury development gets green light
A developer has been given the go-ahead to build six luxury residential blocks at Cheung Sha.
According to the Building Services Dept, each block will be three storeys, with a gross floor area across the projfect of 3322 sq m (35,756 sq ft) and usable area of 1779 sq m (19,149 sq ft).
The developer, New Advance Ltd, a subsidiary of Neutron Property Fund, acquired the 4,212 sq metre site, just behind the Cheung Sha Fire Station, three years ago for HK$290 million.
At that price, the developer will need to sell each building for a total of HK$50 million just to recoup the land acquisition costs alone.
Work on the site and foundations by mainland developer Sino Ocean is already well underway.
When complete the new development will join White Sands, Botanica Bay and a planned project near the San Shek Wan roundabout at the top end of the local property market.
Residents head to the beach to clean up after Hato
Local residents have organised beach cleanups for Cheung Sha and Silvermine Bay in the next two days.
Cheung Sha’s Frankie McYuen has called for help in removing rubbish from the beach Friday afternoon. He is generously laying on a barbecue and salad for all participants, starting from 4pm. He adds:
I have co-ordinated with the beach cleaner contractors so we will have some gloves, rakes and rubbish bags. (Approx. 20 sets)
Please bring your own tools if you have. And remember sunscreen, hats, spare T-shirts can always help.
Cheung Sha Beach today (Photo: Frankie McYuen)
In Mui Wo, Daphne Chu, who organised the palm oil cleanup of Pui O Beach two weeks ago, has called for volunteers to gather at Silvermine Beach at 9:30am on Saturday.
She advises participants to bring their own gloves and water. Register on Facebook before 5pm August 25.
Cheung Sha site sells for $210m, smashing record and expectations
A developer has paid a record HK$210 million for a Cheung Sha residential site, 50% above the forecast price.
The price equates to up to HK$19,667 per sq ft, beating the previous highest price in the district of HK$15,100, paid in 2013.
The Lands Department announced yesterday that a Hong Kong firm, Golden United Development, a unit of Leap Up Investments, had won the tender for the coastal site from eight other bidders. One of Leap Up’s directors is by Chan Sze-ming, the son of the vice-chairman of listed firm Agile Property Holdings, the Oriental Daily reports.
The site, Lot 763 in DD 332, with total area of 2,480 sq m, had been expected to fetch HK$110 to HK$140 million, or HK$10,000-13,000 per square foot.
By contrast a neighbouring residential site went for just $7,996 per sq ft three years ago.
The rise in valuations and the strong interest from bidders including Albert Yeung’s Emperor Group, Sino Land and Wheelock Properties underline how hot the local market has become for high-end homes.
Victor K.F. Lai, managing director, of Centaline Property Agency, said despite the higher than expected price, it was a good one for the developer.
With the coming of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Cheung Sha has become an attractive site for low-density luxury development, he says.
“The area is sitting on appreciation potential,” he told Economic Times.
Demand for answers on oil spill as cleanup continues
Five days after the collision of cargo ships in the Pearl River that released 9000 tonnes of palm oil, Lantau beaches appear to be nearly free of oil chunks and residue.
However, 13 beaches across Hong Kong remain closed and the government has been called on to answer key questions about the spill.
On Lantau, the oily residue has mostly been removed from Lower Cheung Sha and Tong Fuk beaches. On Pui O, the worst-hit local beach, FEHD cleaning staff filled dozens of bags of oil chunks as they cleaned up this morning. Pui O, Upper Cheung Sha and Lower Cheung Sha beaches remain closed for bathing. Tong Fuk Beach is open.
Pui O Beach, Tuesday morning
On Lamma Island, which has been most heavily contaminated by the spill, the clean-up continued today at Nga Kau Wan Beach. Local resident and coastal cleanup activist Robert Lockyer said he estimated only about 10% of the material had been collected yesterday.
Congealed palm oil washed up on Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island (Source: Robert Lockyer)
Two more Hong Kong beaches were closed this morning as a result of the spill, with Ken Ching, director of the Eco-Education and Resources Centre, warning that while the larger chunks had mostly been removed, he expects the situation to get worse next week.
Ching said that the water current will weaken by then, so a lot of the oil pieces will be trapped in coastal areas of the city.
He urged the government to increase the pace of its clean-up operation, adding that it would be helpful to know how much oil was spilled .
Dog owners also have been urged to keep their pets away from the affected beaches.
Lamma resident Sheila McClelland, a founder of the Lifelong Animal Protection Charity, says dogs could either choke or fall ill from ingesting the chunks of oil, SCMP.com reports . “Dogs love to eat fatty things. This can cause pancreatitis, a seriously life-threatening disease,” she said.
A dog roots among the oil residue on Yung Shue Wan Beach, Lamma (Source: Robert Lockyer)
Meanwhile, District Councillor Paul Zimmerman has asked Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung why it took “several days” and a series of media inquiries for the government to inform the Hong Kong public.
In an open letter he asks when the government learned of the spill, what action it took and who will foot the bill for the cleanup. He also seeks details of the accident, the names of the vessels involved and the nature of their cargo.
Lantau Confidential 