Henderson Land Development, New World Development, Sino Land and CK Asset Holdings are among 22 Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies that have expressed interest in a pilot scheme to develop large land parcels in the Northern Metropolis after a Beijing official urged the business sector to get involved.

The Development Bureau said on Monday that it had received submissions from a range of companies.

“The enterprises or organisations making the submissions include local and mainland developers, contractors, conglomerates and e-commerce logistic companies, etc,” the bureau said.

The Northern Metropolis is a government blueprint that aims to transform 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) of land in the New Territories, near the mainland border, into an economic powerhouse and housing hub.

CK Asset’s affiliate CK Hutchison Holdings has come under fire over its plan to sell overseas port assets including two politically sensitive operations in the Panama Canal.

Henderson Land Development, New World Development, Sino Land and CK Asset all said on Monday that they had expressed interest in the pilot land disposal scheme in the Northern Metropolis.