Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho on Wednesday said steps have been taken to help reduce the estimated construction cost of a government complex in Kwu Tung North as part of the Northern Metropolis project.

The government is proposing a HK$9.9 billion plan to build a 35-storey office block, with the middle and upper floors primarily used for government offices, while the ground and lower floors will house a district library, a post office, a kindergarten and welfare facilities.

Under the proposal, there will be a separate eight-storey complex that will house a 1,000-seat fencing arena, a community hall and a public medical clinic.

The plan will help drive the development of Kwu Tung North, Ho said on an RTHK programme.

"Its scale is enormous – comparable to the combined size of our current government headquarters and Legislative Council Complex in Tamar," she said.

Ho said she noted concerns from some lawmakers about the estimated cost of the project during a Legco panel meeting on Tuesday.

She said the government had looked into ways to save costs in the design stage, and decided to use a new construction method to help lower the price tag.

"Using modular assembly can save time – and time is money – so this is already a cost-saving measure.

"Another measure is that this time, we are not doing excavation work as we have done previously, for example when building parking facilities. By skipping that this time, we expect to save both construction costs and time," she said.

Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with the first phase of the project due to be completed in 2029.


Edited by Edmond Fong