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1. Kai Tak confirmed for cruise terminal

2. Kai Tak a diamond for developers: lawmaker

1. Kai Tak confirmed for cruise terminal
DENISE HUNG and CHLOE LAI , SCMP 25 October 2006

The government has announced its decision to press ahead with building a cruise ship terminal at Kai Tak that will be able to handle vessels twice as large as those docking at Ocean Terminal.

The tender for the HK$2.4 billion new terminal will be issued in the second half of next year, with the developer given a 50-year franchise.

In an unexpected move, officials also said the smaller Tsim Sha Tsui terminal, currently run by Wharf (Holdings), will continue to operate after the Kai Tak terminal is built. Wharf's lease expires in 2012.

Yesterday's announcement by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan confirmed earlier reports on the location of the two-berth terminal, which will be able to accommodate cruise ships of up to 100,000 displacement tonnes.

The first berth is expected to begin service in 2012.

The successful bidder will design, build and operate the berths and supporting facilities. It will also be given the right to develop up to 50,000 square metres of commercial, office and retail facilities in the terminal building.

Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, the city's sole cruise ship terminal, has nearly reached capacity and cannot handle ships exceeding 50,000 tonnes.

Mr Ip said of the location: "It is the only site within the Victoria Harbour with the capacity to provide two or more berths without reclamation."

He said construction of a new terminal was important for Hong Kong to capture growth in the cruise industry in the Asia-Pacific region, and to sustain its development as a regional cruise hub.

The global cruise industry is growing rapidly. To meet the demand, 28 ships will be commissioned over the next four years, according to a consultants' report cited by Commissioner for Tourism Au King-chi. The ships will have a total capacity of 85,000 passengers.

Miss Au said Hong Kong 's cruise market demand had risen 55 per cent in 2005, with the trend for bigger ships that could not be accommodated at Ocean Terminal.

Mr Ip said an incremental approach would be taken to developing the Kai Tak facilities. First, the new terminal would be built on a 7.6 hectare site. The government would later offer adjacent land to the market for development of tourism-related facilities, such as hotels and shopping malls.

"With the cruise terminal and its facilities, the economic benefits are estimated to be between HK$1.4 billion and HK$2.2 billion per annum by 2020," Ms Au said, adding that 6,900 to 10,900 jobs could be created.

The government said the six proposals submitted in an invitation for expressions of interest to build a temporary cruise terminal last year had been rejected, since none had met the non-reclamation requirement and the statutory principle of protecting and preserving the harbour, or had difficulties with transport and infrastructure.

All companies that last year expressed interest in building a new cruise terminal said they needed to study the tender document before deciding whether to bid for the development.

Cheung Kong (Holdings) said: "It is an accepted and indisputable fact that Hong Kong urgently needs a new cruise terminal. As to whether we will participate, we have to study the government's plan first and it will depend on the development conditions."

2. Kai Tak a diamond for developers: lawmaker
DENNIS ENG , SCMP 25 October 2006

The government's proposal to turn the former Kai Tak airport into a commercial, tourism and residential complex has been criticised as a vehicle for "exchanging development rights for political favours".

"You are cutting up a perfect diamond into several pieces," legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip told housing minister Michael Suen Ming-yeung in the Legislative Council yesterday.

"You have distorted the original idea of a Kai Tak development."

Fellow independent lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki said he was concerned the project would benefit private developers at the expense of the public.

Mr Suen denied he was paying lip service to the environment and pointed out that one-third of the entire development would be devoted to publicly accessible landscaped and green park areas.

All three main political parties - the Liberal Party, the Democratic Party and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong - welcomed the government's latest revised plan.

The design includes a 200-metre, 50-storey hotel near the southern end of the runway, a heliport, a cruise ship terminal with at least two berths and a bridge connecting the area to neighbouring Kwun Tong district.

The other end of the runway will be dominated by a multi-purpose stadium and low-density commercial and residential developments. A monorail may serve the area.

DAB lawmaker Chan Kam-lam said an observation tower or deck should be built near the hotel.

The current plan assumes no reclamation, although a third cruise ship berth would probably require additional dredging.

Deputy Director of Planning Ophelia Wong Yuen-sheung said it would be best to build the first two cruise ship berths at the southern end of the runway because the sea was deeper there.