Tourism project on Lantau to go to tender
The government has abandoned plans to award a HK$68 million tourism development project at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island to the MTR Corporation without tender, after objections from legislators.
The project, which consists mainly of a 1.52-hectare public piazza with a Chinese garden and lotus ponds, will now be put up for public tender, with the Architectural Services Department as works agent.
In a paper to be discussed by the Legislative Council public works committee next Wednesday, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau says it reviewed the original arrangements after hearing lawmakers' concerns at a meeting of the Legco economic services panel last May.
The landscaped piazza will be built in the religious Di Tan area adjoining the Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha.
As well as the garden and ponds, it will include a central pedestrian way dedicated to the Buddhist Bodhi Path teachings with stone statues and stone pillars on each side.
The paper says the piazza will complement existing tourist attractions including the monastery, the giant Buddha and the MTR Corp's Ngong Ping 360 cable car, as well as providing open space for visitors and residents and improving pedestrian flow.
Estimated to cost HK$42.7 million, it will account for the bulk of the cost of the project, which also includes storm-water drainage works, public toilets, environmental measures and a vehicle roundabout at the entrance.
Tenders for the main contract will be called after Legco approves funding. Work is expected to start in June.
