1 Lantau businesses out to profit from delta bridge
Anita Lam, SCMP 2 October 2008

Major businesses and tourist attractions on Lantau are forming a coalition to seek ways of grabbing the biggest possible economic benefit for the island from the Hong Kong- Macau-Zhuhai bridge that is expected to open in seven years.

The enterprises - including the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, the airport, AsiaWorld-Expo, Disneyland, SkyCity shopping complex and major hotels - want to draw up a plan that will attract short-term visitors and transit air passengers to stay longer in the city.

"A lot of travellers will be entering the mainland via Lantau and vice versa when the bridge is in service. If there is nothing to keep them here, they will leave," Ngong Ping 360 managing director Morris Cheung Siu-wah said.

"I believe Lantau has the qualities to become a hub of economic activity, given its geographical proximity to the airport, a cross-border bridge and access to the Central business area in just 20 minutes."

In an interview, Mr Cheung said ideas that had come out of meetings held so far were still at a preliminary stage as coalition members knew little of the government's plans for the island's development.

A taskforce led by Henry Tang Ying-yen when he was financial secretary published a Lantau development plan in 2005, outlining an overall framework for the city's biggest island that included resorts with spa facilities, an eco-tour centre, a cycling track and a logistics park.

Little has been said about these ideas since then, but with the bridge finally on the drawing board, businesspeople see this as the time to start searching for opportunities - with or without government participation.

Mr Cheung said co-operation was the key to building economic activity.

Meanwhile, the cable car is still struggling to build passenger numbers back to the levels of its first nine months of operation, before it was shut after an empty gondola plunged 50 metres to the ground during maintenance on June 12 last year.

More than 1.1 million passengers took the cable car in the nine months since its reopening on December 31, down from 1.5 million for the nine months until the accident. Mr Cheung blamed bad weather and maintenance problems.

"We were struck by four strong typhoons this year, plus in June alone we lost 18.5 work days on maintenance, so a turnout of 1.1 million was quite good under these circumstances," he said.

The operators of the Lantau attraction will strengthen marketing to boost patronage. The MTR Corporation, which took over running of the cable car from Skyrail-ITM (Hong Kong) after the gondola accident, has sought deals with attractions such as the Wetland Park in Tin Shui Wai and Ocean Park to launch promotional packages. It plans to unveil more this month.

Mr Cheung said Ngong Ping 360 planned to focus on visitors from India in future.

"They formed only 1 per cent of our patronage so far, but it's growing fast, and with their huge population there is a lot of potential."

The 5.7km-long cable-car system connects Tung Chung with Ngong Ping village, offering a scenic 25- minute trip to the famed Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha.