Proposed redevelopment of HK waterfront
by Edith Lin, SCMP 1 May 07:03 UTC
Proposed Hung Hom development in Victoria Harbour - `Monaco in Hong Kong` © HK Gov Development Bureau
The proposed development of Hong Kong's Hung Hom waterfront should include immigration facilities for a new yacht marina and incorporate luxury residential property within the complex to attract high-end tourists and investors to Hong Kong, lawmakers have said.
The suggestions were made on Tuesday during the legislature’s development panel meeting, where lawmakers discussed the government’s preliminary proposal for the Hung Hom harbourfront, which includes constructing a “world-class” yacht berthing facility to accommodate up to 200 vessels.
Lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who also convenes Hong Kong’s top policy decision-making body, said that the proposed marina should be equipped with customs, immigration, quarantine and maintenance facilities. “The yacht economy is not only about having a breakwater … In the cases of Barcelona and Monte Carlo, they have established an industry chain with supporting facilities including maintenance and gadgets,” she said. “It is not only about having berths and earning money from the mooring fees.”
Hung Hom is one of three proposed locations for additional berths, aiming to provide a total of 600 places, following Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s announcement last October of initiatives to boost yacht tourism.
The other two locations are the former Lamma quarry area and an expanded Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter. Separately, the city’s airport authority will develop a yacht bay with about 600 berths.
The government envisions transforming the Hung Hom area into a landmark waterfront featuring a yacht marina and a prominent 50-story residential-commercial tower with entertainment facilities. Construction, which will take more than a decade, is expected to begin in 2029, with a preliminary cost estimated at between HK$10 billion (US$1.29 billion) and HK$20 billion. The administration anticipates the private sector will undertake the entire initiative.
Benson Luk Hon-man, a lawmaker from the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, said that the government should not only focus on the physical infrastructure but also provide policy support. He added that overseas yachts faced a lengthy application process for various licenses before being allowed to sail in Victoria Harbour. "I hope the government will have relevant policies to support its proposed hardware,” he said.
Luk also suggested that the administration could consider organising sailing boat competitions in the waters off Hung Hom to stimulate the city’s mega-event economy.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun also urged the government to position the proposed residential development along the waterfront as high-end properties. He said the government should aim at building bigger private flats, as the proposed 1,300 private homes only had an average size of close to 700 sq ft. Tien argued that large sea view flats would attract foreign investors and generate additional revenue for the government, adding that developers should also share a portion of their profits with the administration.
Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling said that the government had gathered feedback from the yacht industry regarding policies that could be streamlined and would forward their submissions to relevant bureaus for follow up. Ho also said the city had suffered from a shortage of berthing facilities, with only about 2,000 berths to meet the existing demand of over 10,000 pleasure vessels. She deemed the proposed marina had its merits, as Victoria Harbour lacked a sizeable berthing facility. Furthermore, Ho said that the government had invited the MTR Corporation to conduct detailed technical assessments for the proposed waterfront development, including evaluating berth allocation for yachts and sailing boats. She also acknowledged that the area had significant potential for residential projects, adding that the coming detailed assessment would explore options for accelerating the development timeline.