1 Bids to be sought for Kai Tak cruise terminal
Una So, The Standard 10 August 10, 2007

Bids to build the new cruise terminal at Kai Tak will be taken before the end of this year, the Tourism Commission said yesterday.

The first of two berths must be ready by February 2012.

Commissioner for Tourism Au King-chi said the Town Planning Board is expected to approve the use of the 7.6-hectare project site around October after which bids will be called for.

She said potential bidders will need a proven track record of successfully running a cruise terminal for at least three years, with a minimum annual throughput of 200,000 homeport passengers, adding that 40 terminals in the world fit this description.

Successful bidders will have to enter into a service pledge with the government, in addition to a 50-year land lease, on the operation, management and maintenance of the new cruise terminal.

The company must release nonsensitive information such as the parking arrangement and fees involved.

Under the commission's regulations, any violation of the pledge may result in legal action and the eventual revoking of the land lease.

Also bidders will be required to set aside 22,000 square meters at the site for a landscaped deck atop the 50,000-square-meter commercial area.

The commercial area and the landscape must be finished in three stages by 2020.

To avoid blocking the seaview the height of the terminal should not exceed 35 meters, which is about four stories.

Thirty percent of the tender assessment will be based on financial criteria, while 70 percent will be on qualitative aspects such as baggage handling, operation deployment and industry communication.

The commission will set up an independent steering committee to monitor the project after the award of the tender.

The commission has put a price tag of HK$3.2 billion on the project, from building the apron facilities to the terminal.

The commission has also met with the three main cruise companies that account for 80 percent of the world's cruise market.

Carnival Cruise Lines, World Caribbean Cruise and Star Cruises have shown an interest in either using the Kai Tak terminal or making it their home port, Au said.

Tourism Board information reveals the demand for cruise trips has been increasing.

Last year 410,000 people visited Hong Kong on cruise ships, a jump of almost 27 percent from 2005.

The commission said the new cruise terminal could bring in as many as 1.4 million cruise passengers to Hong Kong by 2020.

Au said the cruise industry wants the terminal to get underway as soon as possible with adequate supporting transport facilities.

The apron facility for passengers and luggage loading and unloading, as well as support facilities, will be completed before the commercial area.

A government-built double-lane road will link the terminal to the Kowloon City district.

The commission estimated the first of the 850-meter long berths will be able to accommodate mega cruise vessels with a gross tonnage of up to 220,000 tonnes. The operation date of the second berth could go beyond 2015, depending on market needs and progress by the Hong Kong and China Gas Company in diverting submarine gas mains in order to deepen it.

Au said the cruise industry had proposed parking two smaller-sized cruise vessels at the second berth rather than leaving it unused.