After 37 rounds of fierce bidding in a public tender, CapitaLand beat Henderson Land, Hong Kong's third-biggest property developer, to win the 59,622-square-meter site in the Gongshu District in northern Hangzhou, a two-hour drive from Shanghai and capital of Zhejiang Province.

CapitaLand plans to build about 1,200 apartments on the site, targeting the mid- to high-end market. The average housing price in the area is about 7,200 yuan a square meter, compared with 9,300 yuan a square meter in Xiacheng District, Hongzhou's most expensive area. The first phase of the development is expected to be launched in the second half of 2007 and should be completed by 2009.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)