The truth is in the numbers
Along the Central harbourfront, the government is planning to increase the total gross floor area (GFA) by 9.24 million sq ft in proposed developments. This means the harbourfront will become much denser.
To put that figure in perspective, a web search shows the total GFA of the entire International Finance Centre including shopping mall, hotel, and serviced apartments is 4.47 million sq ft.
The giant government headquarters at the Tamar site would cover 3.69 million sq ft, with 322,000 sq ft of parking, or more than 800 parking spaces.
By comparison, the IFC complex only has 2.73 million sq ft in office space, with about 15,000 people working there at full occupation. Tamar, it seems, will house many more warm bodies.
A new legislature building with 1.57 million sq ft of floor area and 118,000 sq ft of parking is planned for another site near Tamar, but closer to the waterfront.
IFC One, mind you, has 783,000 sq ft of floor space. Legislators and their secretariat would no doubt be pleased to know that government planners mean to give them a whole lot more space.
What is interesting to note is that IFC One has an estimated 5,000 people working in the building. Even taking into account that Legco will require a sizeable council chamber, it is hard to see how many people government is planning for. One thing is sure though - they are extremely generous in providing about 300 parking spaces.
The other big chunk of waterfront land is a 2 million sq ft 'comprehensive development area' (CDA) in front of Jardine House and adjacent to IFC Two. It would feature retail and office space and parking for 850 cars.
Offices in this CDA take up 589,100 sq ft, which is just a little less space than the new Pacific Place Three in Admiralty. The largest portion, 1.14 million sq ft, is reserved for shops. The mall here will be very much larger than Pacific Place's, which has a paltry 709,900 sq ft by comparison.
Just in case that is still not enough new shopping space in Central, there is another nearby site of 440,000 sq ft slated for retail usage at the waterfront end of City Hall - on reclaimed land being filled in as you read this column.
There is one more site on previously reclaimed land just at the back of the outlying ferry piers and in front of the IFC complex. It will house another 819,600 sq ft of offices, which means it will be larger than IFC One, and can therefore accommodate more than 5,000 people. With this will come another 175,600 sq ft of retail space.
The above list is not all there will be. There will, in fact, be other smaller waterfront sites for retail development with a total floor area of 286,900 sq ft. Plus, the Red Cross's site appears set for redevelopment.
The government admitted at a public forum on September 3 that these developments would generate a total of 7,593 vehicle trips per hour.
This admission ran counter to the government's continuing insistence that its proposed Central-Wan Chai bypass and P2 highway network along the harbourfront are to reduce traffic. The truth is, they are needed because of the tremendous new developments that are planned.
The government has revealed that it also intends to reclaim large tracts of the Wan Chai-Causeway Bay waterfront. A Transport Department plan shown at the forum indicates the comprehensiveness of the reclamation to come.
No doubt the government will say yet again that the roads it is planning will relieve traffic, when in truth, they are to accommodate ever more expansion along the harbourfront.
By the way, if government headquarters are moved to Tamar, and the Central Government Offices are sold for redevelopment, how much more GFA will there be in Central?
Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive of the think-tank Civic Exchange
