THE Government will decide on the building of a new ferry pier at Tsim Sha Tsui to replace the overcrowded China Ferry Terminal before the end of the decade.
The Director of Marine, Mr Tony Miller, admitted that the five-year-old China Ferry Terminal was approaching full capacity during the rush hour and said the Government had underestimated passenger flow when it was designed.
The new ferry pier might be built at Kowloon Point, which is part of the West Kowloon Reclamation project.
Because of this, a completion date would depend the progress of the reclamation.
Although the present annual passenger flow, at six million, was below the ferry terminal's capacity of 13 million a year, Mr Miller said the number of passengers using it approached capacity at peak times.
During the Lunar New Year, the passenger volume reached 37,000 a day - equivalent to 13 million a year.