The Development Secretary said on Saturday that she's confident that revenues from land sales in the next two months will top HK$4 billion, but the full year figure might still fall short of the government's original projection in last year's budget forecast.

Speaking on a radio programme, Bernadette Linn noted that a land parcel in Tai Wai had attracted a significant number of bids on Friday. The government has several land sales scheduled between now and the end of the fiscal year.

"I believe that the final number will be higher than the number just mentioned, but it may not reach the original estimate of more than HK$30 billion," she said.

"I think that at this time our real estate market hasn't fully recovered, so that's understandable. It takes time for the market to warm up."

She noted that the last budget had projected average annual expenditure of about HK$90 billion on public works projects over the next four years.

The development secretary said work is proceeding on these projects, including the Northern Metropolis project, which she believes can meet existing benchmarks.

She also said some Northern Metropolis projects are already under construction, and others have entered the planning process, stressing that these works were huge in scale, and would take years to complete.

She said the New Territories North New Town will be carried out in phases.

"In the past, people often heard about new development areas like the Kwu Tung North New Development Area, which is just a few hundred hectares. The entire San Tin Technopole is about 600 hectares. Thus, the development of over 1,000 hectares has to be carried out in phases," she said.

"In this case, we'll prioritize about 200 hectares within that area. It will include industrial parks, private housing, and part of a university town. We hope to finalize discussions here so we can start the statutory process early and begin construction in 2028."

Linn added that the authorities will adjust the pace of some projects, to ensure that the government's cash flow is managed effectively, such as waterfront beautification and park facilities.

Separately, she noted that the Kau Yi Chau Artifical Islands project has not been abandoned, but time constraints mean it's uncertain whether reclamation work can begin under the current administration.