The proposed transformation of an old Hong Kong neighbourhood into a world-class waterfront in the style of Australia’s Darling Harbour will require major cooperation among at least 11 government departments and agreement from private owners, officials have said.
“The real challenge is the implementation, because the proposal actually involves [cooperation among] quite different departments and policy bureaus,” Harbourfront Commission chairman Ivan Ho Man-yiu said on Monday.
“It is important to reach a consensus inside the government,” he added, citing Kai Tak Sports Park, the Marine Department, Civil Engineering and Development Department, Transport Department and Environmental Protection Department.
Ho said that Kai Tak Sports Park should also be considered one of the project’s stakeholders, as any events at To Kwa Wan’s typhoon shelter could impact the sports facility’s operations.
All proposed activities on the water body in the typhoon shelter, such as converting barges into floating restaurants, would have to be approved by the Marine Department, he explained.
