Exodus from New Territories brownfield relieves pressure on industrial property market

The Northern Metropolis project is forcing a wave of brownfield tenants to relocate, lifting demand for floor space in industrial buildings

For years, brownfield sites in Hong Kong’s New Territories have hosted a range of businesses looking for cheap space – from storage depots to recycling centres to scrapyards.

The wave of relocations had driven nearly 20 per cent of the new leases for industrial properties recorded so far this year, a major uplift that has helped slow the decline in rental prices in the sector, according to analysts.

Samuel Lai, head of CBRE Hong Kong’s industrial and logistics division, said that 994 hectares of brownfield land were set to be acquired for the Northern Metropolis in four phases. The first phase – from 2024 to the end of 2026 – involved about 320 hectares of land, more than 100 hectares of which had already been acquired, he added.

“While most brownfield operations displaced by land resumption relocate to other brownfield sites to continue business, some move into urban industrial buildings and compliant logistics warehouses,” Lai said.