GLOPRAGlobal Property Radar

Hong Kong Northern Link railway approved at HK$54.8 billion in November 2026

Hong Kong approved the second part of the Northern Link at HK$54.8 billion, cutting peak travel to Kwu Tung from 60 to 12 minutes, but not before 2034.

The facts

  • HK$54.8b: the independently verified cost of Part 2 of the Northern Link, at July 2025 prices. The government puts the whole Northern Link project at about HK$86.2 billion, also at July 2025 prices.
  • The whole project is 28% below an earlier estimate. The announcement states neither the amount of that earlier estimate nor its price base.
  • The main line is a 10.7 km underground railway with five stations: interchanges at Kam Sheung Road and Kwu Tung, and intermediate stations at San Tin, Ngau Tam Mei and Au Tau.
  • The spur line runs about 6 km with three new stations, of which about 1.1 km lies in Shenzhen.
  • Peak-hour travel from Kam Sheung Road to Kwu Tung falls from 60 minutes to 12 minutes, and San Tin to the Huanggang boundary crossing takes about 11 minutes. Both lines are to be completed by 2034 or earlier and to open at the same time, with the spur line brought forward by two years.
  • Part 1 was approved on 8 July 2025 and Part 2 on 10 November 2026, both by the Chief Executive in Council. Under the rail-plus-property approach the MTR Corporation receives land at Ngau Tam Mei Area 3A, 3D and 4A, San Tin Area 2A and 2G, Kwu Tung North Area 23 and 26 (East), and part of a residential site in the proposed Au Tau development area.

What it means for your money

  • Travel time to Kwu Tung drops from 60 minutes to 12 minutes, but only by 2034. Entering now carries an eight-year wait.
  • Entry pricing is the measurable part today. Glopra's Hong Kong snapshot shows an average of USD 17,514.6 per square metre and a five-year price change of -19.9%, so this cycle's entry level sits below where it stood five years ago.
  • For an owner already holding Hong Kong property, the carrying side is the channel. Glopra puts tax on Hong Kong rental income at 12% and transaction costs at 6.9%, so the rental income runs through the whole wait while the transaction cost falls due only on a sale.

What to watch

  • The announcement names no construction start date. It does state that the government's Railway Checking Unit has cut the time needed to process railway building plans by 30% to 50%.
  • Three limits in the announcement itself: it gives no number of flats and no site areas for the land grants, so the housing supply effect cannot be sized from it; the amount behind the 28% saving is not published; and both cost figures are at July 2025 prices, so later figures need a price-base adjustment before any comparison.

Sources: Government of Hong Kong https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202611/10/P2026111000476.htm

Market data: Hong Kong