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1. A different view on `groundscraper'

2. Keep Kai Tak's identity, urges alliance

1. A different view on `groundscraper'
The Standard, 15 August 2006

The hotly contested `groundscraper' proposal in the government's blueprint for the Central waterfront was submitted by Hongkong Land, Central's largest landlord, in a move that effectively safeguarded harborviews for its adjacent developments, The Standard has learned.

he building - nicknamed "IFC2 lying on its side" by environmentalists - was proposed by Hongkong Land in 1998 as an "objection" to government plans which envisioned a 40-story block-shaped skyscraper at the site, according to a source.

2. Keep Kai Tak's identity, urges alliance
Joyce Kam, The Standard 15 August 2006

Any redevelopment of Kai Tak and its nearby suburbs should take into account the area's distinct character and must not become just another homogenized urban development, a lawmaker says.

Federation of Trade Unions legislator Chan Yuen-han, a member of the Kai Tak Alliance, said the government should maintain the district's identity in any redevelopment project. "Redevelopment doesn't mean we have to demolish everything. Old districts have a very strong local color that we should cherish and preserve," she said.

The alliance has suggested beautifying the Kwun Tong Public Cargo Working Area instead of turning it into a promenade. "The cargo area is crucial to the logistics and recycling industry. About 70 percent of recycled paper in Hong Kong is brought here to be shipped elsewhere," Chan said.

The government promised to arrange another site for the industry before they close the area.

"But Kwun Tong is the best site for us. It handles 7,000 tonnes of paper a month," Hong Kong Recycle Material and Reproduction Business General Association vice president Lau Yiu- shing said.

"If the government shuts down this area, we'll have to take the paper to Tuen Mun or Chai Wan, which will greatly increase our transportation costs." He added that 70,000 people would be affected by the move.

Chinese University of Hong Kong associate professor of architecture Wallace Chang Ping-hung said Kai Tak could be the economic driver for the whole district.

"The entire Kai Tak area is wrapped by highways. It's planned for vehicles to go around, not pedestrians as it's actually blocking visitors from walking to anywhere else. There's no way it will help activate nearby districts the way it is," he said. "And we have to pay attention to the noise and air pollution that traffic brings."