Measures to increase the income generated by Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (2015/02/04)

MR YIU SI-WING: Only 60 cruise liners will call at the KTCT this year. We estimate that in the short run, the shops there will be unable to overcome the business hardship arising from the shortage of visitors. In that case, an increase in local customers will be the only way to improve the business of the shopping centre. The Secretary says in his reply that an area of 350 sq m (over 3 000 sq ft) in the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Park (the Park) is now used by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) as offices and supplies storage areas. Actually, offices and supplies storage areas can be moved to the lower storeys of the terminal building, because the rooftop with its 360-degree panoramic sea view is of very great value. I think the Government should consider the use of the terminal building for more commercial purposes, so as to induce more local customers to spend money there.
May I ask whether the Secretary will consider holding discussions with the LCSD on vacating more space, so that more shops can be made available for rental and the commercial value of the terminal building can be increased.

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: I thank Mr YIU for asking this supplementary question. As already mentioned in the main reply, the space currently used by the LCSD as offices and storage areas is not planned for commercial uses. Unless the planning is amended, the space cannot be reduced. And, another point is that the LCSD has a real need for space to store the supplies required for managing this vast rooftop garden.
In addition, there is an ancillary commercial area totalling 5 600 sq m in the terminal building, and two commercial units in the rooftop garden are available for rent. We consider that at this stage, we should concentrate on optimizing the use of these commercial facilities as a means of increasing the overall cost-efficiency of the cruise terminal. At the same time, we also think that an area of an appropriate size should be maintained for public recreational purposes.