1 Waterfront walk for Kwun Tong next year
Joyce Ng, SCMP 26 July 2008

Kwun Tong residents will be able to enjoy a short segment of a long-awaited waterfront walkway next year.

The Development Bureau said yesterday that work on the 200-metre temporary promenade along 4,670 square metres of the Kwun Tong public cargo working area was tentatively due to begin early next year.

It should be completed in the latter half of the year, the bureau said in a paper submitted to the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee.

Two cargo working areas have delayed construction. Lawmakers have demanded that the government close the areas, noting that their berth licence agreements will expire at the end of this month.

However, the government has said it hopes the operators will move voluntarily. Earlier, Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said there was no suitable site to reprovision the cargo working areas.

The plan will go to the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee and Kwun Tong district council in September for consultation.

Councillor So Lai-chun hoped the work would start soon. "We are long overdue for a promenade," she said.

Parks, cafes and dog parks were among the suggested uses.

Residents have also proposed connecting the Kwun Tong promenade and Kai Tak with a footbridge. "The footbridge can pull the two districts closer and save travelling time, and revitalise Kwun Tong's economic activities," she said.