2 Murray Road Is the World's Most Expensive Plot of Land

Hong Kong may never have been home to the world’s tallest tower; but when it comes to buildings, Hong Kong is the land of records. Central District, in particular, seems to concentrate most of those records.

On May 16, 2017, the Hong Kong government sold Inland Lot 9051, at 2 Murray Road. Ideally located, in front of Hong Kong’s most iconic landmark, the Bank of China Tower, and between Chater Garden and Lippo Centre, the plot was bound to attract investors. And it didn’t disappoint.

The 2,880-square-metre (31,000-square-foot) plot was leased for 50 years at a price of 23.28 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about 3 billion US dollars. In other words, the site was sold for 1 million US dollars per square metre (97,000 US dollars per square foot).

Astonishingly, the owners agreed to this hefty price regardless of the height restriction of 190 metres (623 feet) imposed by the Hong Kong government on the future skyscraper to be built on this plot of land, the Henderson. The reason for this height restriction was that the government wanted to prevent the new building from obscuring the view of the city’s most iconic landmark from Victoria Harbour.