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1. Get set for a new view at West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

2. Canopy plan overcomes Legco hurdle

3. International heritage awards for century-old buildings

4. Exco approves agreement for $8.3b Kowloon South rail link

5. Hong Kong developers gamble on gaming hub

1..Get set for a new view at West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade
Hong Kong Government, 14 September 2005

Triangular lighting towers have been erected along the the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade.



The West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade offers a children's play area.

Hong Kong, Asia's tourist mecca, is all-set to open another scenic attraction, which is sure to draw a wealth of travellers and locals alike. A temporary waterfront promenade at the West Kowloon Cultural District site will open on Saturday (September 17) night, offering another scenic harbourside location to view the grandeur of Asia's world city.

With the cultural district's development still pending, the Housing, Planning & Lands Bureau has accepted the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee's proposal to build the promenade to offer public access to the waterfront at the southern tip of West Kowloon.

It will be managed by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department and will open daily from 7am to 11pm.

Open view, open mind

The committee's Harbour Plan Review sub-committee chairman Vincent Ng said the walkway offers prime harbour-front open space.

"This site is a rare place where people can get close to the waterfront. We think it is a very suitable location to build a temporary promenade for the public to stroll along and enjoy the nice view of the harbour," he said, adding that as the promenade was completed quickly, visitors are welcome to suggest views to further improve the area.

Mr Ng said a utilitarian approach had been adopted for waterfront land use in the past, comprising cargo-handling areas, pump rooms and roads. However, more thought is now being put on the public's quality of life.

"We want to have a waterfront accessible to pedestrians. So we advocate the building of waterfront promenades for people to enjoy the harbour. This promenade in West Kowloon is the sub-committee’s first achievement," he said.

Artsy overtone
Government’s Senior Architect Raymond Fung said as the project is located on a future cultural venue and is temporary, these two elements have been incorporated into its unique design.

"Instead of ordinary park lighting, 70 lanterns have been erected along the 600-metre path and the 400-metre promenade. On each lantern there is a built-in aeolian bell and artists' paintings are used to decorate its sides to present both visual and audio art effects," he said.

Borrowing the idea from the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mr Fung said visitors can sign their names on colourful palm prints in the promenade's timber boardwalk, marking it as an avenue of the people.

As it is a temporary project, Mr Fung said cost effectiveness is paramount.

"Recycled containers are used as food kiosks, toilets and offices. Inexpensive wooden planks are used to build the deck. And used benches have been taken from other parks," he said.

Easy access

Getting to the promenade is easy. Take KMB bus Route 8 from the Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, or green minibus route 77M from Tsim Sha Tsui East.

Or visitors can simply walk 10 to 15 minutes from the bus stop at the West Harbour Crossing toll plaza or the MTR's Kowloon Station. There is a car park adjacent to the promenade.

The facility also offers a new venue to moon-gaze as it will open at 7.30pm on September 17, the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It will stay open until midnight that evening and the following night.

Project pipeline

Other projects the Harbour-front Enhance Committee is working on include the ongoing public participatory programme Central Harbourfront & Me, or the 'CHarM project'.

"Public views and participation are being solicited to generate a design for the Central ferry pier area, after which we will have a design output and proceed with implementation," Mr Ng said.

"We are considering utilising the temporary waterfront for public enjoyment at other locations, like Wan Chai after the relocation of the cargo-handling area, and the old Kai Tak runway."

2. Canopy plan overcomes Legco hurdle
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 14 September 2005

Lord Foster's canopy concept

A key obstacle the government faced in building the gigantic Lord Foster-designed canopy at the West Kowloon Cultural District has disappeared, with legislators quietly dropping the controversial issue from their study of the project.

The subcommittee on West Kowloon Cultural District development unanimously agreed at a closed-door meeting on September 2 to drop the canopy from its agenda. The revised agenda states it will now focus on the development approach and financial arrangements for the arts hub, the role government and local arts groups will play, and its management structure.

Legislators said they had dropped the issue because of time constraints, but an academic described the decision as a political tradeoff.

A source close to the government said lawmakers from major political parties would be invited to join a new authority governing the site's development.

The canopy, which will cover 55 per cent of the arts hub, was on the agenda when the subcommittee started its work in February.

In April, the subcommittee discussed technical aspects of the canopy and passed a resolution demanding more information from the government. In its first report in July, it said it would further examine the canopy in the second report, due in December.

Legco has no decision-making power over the project but Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has said its opinions would be respected.

Alan Leong Kah-kit, from the Article 45 Concern Group and subcommittee chairman, described the canopy as "relatively unimportant and not a matter of principle". Because time was tight for preparing the second-phase report, legislators need to prioritise issues, he said.

But Mr Leong denied the change showed lawmakers had softened their objection to the canopy.

"If the government thinks we're softening our position, they're wrong. It is also possible some members will want to readdress the canopy issue again."

Another member of the subcommittee, who did not want to be named, said Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, of the Article 45 Concern Group, had proposed dropping the canopy from the study. Ms Ng was not available for comment last night.

The 28-strong subcommittee comprises members from all major political parties, and not all of them oppose the canopy idea. Patrick Lau Sau-shing, from The Alliance, and the Liberal Party's Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee were two of the judges who voted for Lord Foster's concept in the design competition.

City University political science professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said he believed the political parties were "willing to trade on the canopy" because they wanted seats on the arts hub authority. "It will certainly ease the pressure the government faces on how the controversial project will move on," he said.

"When the government first unveiled the arts hub's development plan, the canopy was a major rallying point for opposition. It was as controversial as the single-tender approach.

'm not sure if it [can be deemed] relatively unimportant."

The canopy is a key reason why Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen insists on the single-developer approach. The government argues it would be impossible to divide the construction and maintenance of the canopy.

3. International heritage awards for century-old buildings
FELIX CHAN, SCMP 14 September 2005

The Tung Wah Coffin Home in Pokfulam. SCMP photo

The old Ping Shan police station. SCMP photo

Two century-old private buildings in Hong Kong have won international heritage awards.

St Joseph's Chapel in Yim Tin Tsai, Sai Kung, and Tung Wah Coffin Home in Sandy Bay, Pokfulam, gained awards of merit at this year's Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Awards announced earlier this month.

At the first open meeting in its 29 years of history yesterday, the Antiquities Advisory Board was told of the news by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO).

Tung Wah Coffin Home, built in 1899, earlier won the award of honours at the Hong Kong Heritage Awards. The complex includes a range of building traditions spanning from vernacular Chinese architecture to modern buildings.

The Unesco jury praised Tung Wah Group of Hospitals for "preserving a unique building typology and an important cultural institution which reflects the evolving social history of Hong Kong".

On St Joseph's Chapel, built in 1890, the jury praised the project for "demonstrating the success of a community initiative that has garnered the support of multiple stakeholders amongst the local residents and the Hong Kong Catholic community".

Refurbished at a cost of $1.4 million, painted tones of gentle yellow, beige and white, and with refreshed coloured panes in its windows, the church is a memorable sight for Yim Tin Tsai villagers and visitors.

Louis Ng Chi-wa, executive secretary of the AMO, said the awards showed the government did not have a monopoly on conservation. There were many buildings in Hong Kong worth preserving.

"Conservation works on many buildings which may not have the profile of those with landmark significance such as the Central Police Station could be done better if the community took a greater interest," Dr Ng said.

Board members were also briefed on a project to convert the old Ping Shan police station in Yuen Long into a heritage centre.

A Grade III historic building situated on a hilltop near Ping Ha Road, the complex was one of the 14 police stations built after the New Territories were leased in 1898.

After the police vacated the site in 2001, the authorities and the local Tang clan agreed that the police station would be converted into a heritage centre displaying artefacts from the Tang clan's culture and history.

Conversion work started in February and will be completed early next year ahead of the centre's opening in October 2006.

4. Exco approves agreement for $8.3b Kowloon South rail link
BENJAMIN WONG, SCMP 14 September 2005

The Executive Council has approved the draft agreement for the $8.3 billion Kowloon Southern Link, the government announced yesterday.

Construction for the 3.8km rail link was expected to begin soon, a government spokesman said, without giving a specific date.

The link, connecting the West Rail terminal at Nam Cheong with East Rail's terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, is scheduled to be completed by 2009.

Under the draft agreement with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, the rail operator will be responsible for the planning, design and construction of the line. It will also shoulder the construction costs.

The agreement also states the rail company will be responsible for any property developments at the West Kowloon Station - the only station along the link.

Other areas covered by the draft agreement included the land arrangements and the environmental protection requirements that the KCRC must meet, the spokesman said.

"Upon completion of this railway link, the population in the northwest New Territories will have better access to the urban Kowloon areas by rail without the need for any railway interchange," he said.

It is estimated that once the link is completed, passengers will be able to travel from Tin Shui Wai to Tsim Sha Tsui East in 30 minutes.

In August, the KCRC awarded three construction projects for the rail link to two contractors at a value of $3.1 billion.

Plans for the link had caused controversy earlier when it was announced that plans for a station at the Canton Road shopping hub were scrapped because the two would-be partners in the project failed to agree on sharing costs.

The dispute between the KCRC and Wharf Estates Development centred on which side would pay for the station.

It prompted more than 1,200 Canton Road shops, including top brands such as Cartier and Celine, to sign a petition protesting against the decision.

5. Hong Kong developers gamble on gaming hub
PEGGY SITO, SCMP 14 September 2005

Hong Kong developers are making forays into the Macau property market, lured by the prospective long-term economic outlook.

Following Henderson Land Development's revelation of a proposed $4billion residential-retail-hotel complex in the Taipa reclamation area, Hongkong Land is teaming up with Shun Tak Holdings to jointly develop a multibillion-dollar residential-retail project near the Macau Tower at Nam Van.

The project at Nam Van, when complete, will have a developable gross floor area of not less than 2.7 million sqft for residential, commercial, retail and hotel use.

Hongkong Land declined to comment, but the company's chief executive Nicholas Sallnow-Smith has said it was eyeing investment opportunities in Macau.

Kerry Properties is planning to build a high-end residential project in Cotai with a gross floor area of at least 2.8 million sqft.

"We are in the land exchange process for an alternative residential site, which will be in a better location, also in Cotai," said Kerry Real Estate Agency executive director Chu Ip-pui.

"We will definitely get a site there. But the location and the size of the site have not been finalised. People in Macau are looking for high-end luxury projects. We want to bring a special luxury project to them."

He said the outlook of the city's economy and property market would be exciting because of the robust gaming and tourism business.

Agents said a growing number of Hong Kong firms were eyeing Macau, including Sun Hung Kai Properties and Cheung Kong (Holdings).

Midland Realty Macau chief executive Ronald Cheung Yat-fai said: "One Hong Kong developer just bought a site in Cotai." He declined to identify the buyer.

A senior executive of Henderson Land Development said the outlook for Macau would be promising in about three years when the hotels and casinos were finished. The company is planning to build a luxury residential development that will also include a big shopping mall and a resort-style hotel. The design should be finalised towards the end of the year, he said. Hong Kong companies which have already gained a foothold there include China Overseas Land and Investment and Kowloon Development.