Hong Kong is going to charge mainland Chinese authorities, but it is only expected to be around HK$1,000 (US$127) annually. This is for the fact that the latter will be using a 1.1 million sq. ft. port area at the high-speed rail link terminus in West Kowloon.
The area mentioned above is considered among the most expensive sites in the metro. According to the local administration, which announced the decision on Thursday, the move would be matched by the Shenzhen municipal government. Subsequently, it would also slash the annual rent the city is paying for a 4.4 million sq. ft. port area at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint in Shekou.
According to the South China Morning Post, this would bring the figure from 8.1 million yuan to 1,000 yuan (HK$1,150). The changes, however, will take effect starting next year.
The Hong Kong authorities also announced the controversial "co-location" joint checkpoint arrangement. This would allow all mainland officials to enforce their laws in the port area at the West Kowloon terminus they are leasing. The said checkpoint would reportedly be gazetted come Friday.
On the other hand, this would give mainland officials the green light to start working at the aforementioned station on September 4. The 26km Hong Kong section of the HK$84.4 billion Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is poised for launch on September 23.
In a report from Yahoo! News, opposition lawmaker named Tanya Chan did not approve of the arrangement. She went to criticize the nominal rent for mainland authorities, stating that it was upsetting and signaled the latest threat to the city's interests.
"First we lost control of jurisdiction on Hong Kong soil [on which the terminus sits], then the average daily passenger forecast was cut by 26 percent, and now the prime land is valued at HK$1,000," she said. "It is not about parity. How can you compare the value of Shekou with West Kowloon?
Chan revealed that the city paid about HK$4.2 billion in construction and development costs for the Shekou port. As for the rental over the past decade, it reached around HK$1 billion.
Ricacorp Properties senior chief sales director Kenneth Woo said a home next to the West Kowloon terminus would cost HK$30,000 to HK$80,000 per square foot. This is without a doubt one of the priciest rates in Hong Kong.
Rents at the International Commerce Centre, a landmark office tower near the terminus, are also among the city's highest.
