Discovery Bay is a resort-style residential development on the north-east coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It is the brainchild of Hong Kong Resort Company Limited (HKR) and its legendary founder, Cha Chi Ming (1914-2007).
All of us who live here recognise what an amazing place this is. Where else in the world can one live surrounded by sea, mountains and greenery, yet only a short, comfortable ferry ride from the Central Business District of one of the world’s most dynamic cities?
We all have our views on how Discovery Bay could be even better. Yet most of us have little idea what really makes DB tick. What is the history of this place; how does it work; why is it different from the rest of Hong Kong?
This website is designed as a resource on the development, management and governance of DB. The goal is to gather together the essential documents relating to DB and explore their meaning.
Development in DB is managed through the master plans, there being little control over and no limit on development in the original land grant. The master plans may be modified at any time by HKR upon application to the Director of Lands. Public access to the master plans was restricted for over 30 years, but the plans have now been obtained from the Government through the Code on Access to Information and made available on this site.
While the type and density of development is controlled through the master plans, the ultimate limit on development is set by the share regime described in the Deed of Mutual Covenant (DMC). A series of posts under the topic “Undivided Shares” shows how the share regime should work, and how it has been disregarded in the past.
The DMC and sub-deeds also determine the relationship between HKR, City Management (CM) and the individual owners. Given that CM is a subsidiary of HKR, the individual owners are left on their own to protect their interests by making themselves aware of the structures, rights and obligations contained in these documents. The DMC and all sub-deeds of mutual covenant are available on this site.
Finally, a note on the layout. Your experience will be different, depending on whether you are accessing dbConfidential on a computer or on a mobile device/tablet. Computer users will find access to the master plans/DMCs on the left-hand side of the screen; mobile/tablet users will find access at the bottom of the page. In addition, on a mobile device or tablet the top menu may be accessed from the three horizontal bar symbol next to the search icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Click on any picture to see a larger copy.
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