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1. SCMP Photo

2. Planning nod for heritage project

1. Scmp Photo
SCMP 31 January 2004

2. Planning nod for heritage project
Eli Lau, The Standard 31 January 2004

Property giant Cheung Kong (Holdings) has won planning permission to go ahead with its HK$352.8 million redevelopment of the former Marine Police headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui into a tourist site.

The Town Planning Board approved the developer's scheme yesterday, saying its proposals for tree preservation were ``more convincing'' that in the previous plan.

Cheung Kong will convert the 132,000 square feet of gross floor area into a themed restaurant, hotel and shopping complex.

The headquarters, at the junction of Salisbury and Canton Roads, include a 118-year-old Victorian colonial building.

The project was awarded by the Tourism Commission to Flying Snow, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong, on a 50-year land grant last May.

The board deferred the application last month pending further information on tree-preservation methods on the picturesque wooded site.

Cheung Kong plans to convert the main building into a 51-room hotel, along with a three-storey shopping arcade covering 77,500 sq ft.

It estimates that the project will create 315 jobs during the construction phase and another 500 once it is operational.

The project is due to be completed by March 2008 but the developer's proposal indicates completion by early 2007. Cheung Kong, which beat five other bidders for the tender, has expressed confidence it will ``bring an exciting addition to the tourism attractions in Hong Kong'', and complement other facilities in the prime tourist district.

It is the first time the private sector has been involved in preserving as well as developing buildings of historic significance into a heritage tourism site.

The prime site is located at the tip of the Tsim Sha Tsui peninsula, near several five-star hotels and large-scale shopping complexes, including Wharf Holdings' Harbour City.

Cheung Kong shares rose 0.34 per cent yesterday to close at HK$72.25.