Plea for time over cruise terminal
Property developers in the city are expected to unite to demand the government give them more time to prepare their bids for the cruise terminal tender, saying it is impossible to prepare tenders for such an important project in the allotted four months.
The government launched the open tender for the development of a new cruise terminal at Kai Tak on November 9. Tenders must be submitted by noon on March 7.
Industry sources said the Real Estate Developers Association plans to send a letter to the government after it meets on Friday, calling for an extension of the deadline. Members have already met once, last month, to discuss the issue.
'If the government is serious about developing a world-class cruise terminal, you need a world-class architect,' one developer interested in the project said. 'Just coming up with a design takes at least a few months. Then, you need to sort out the financing and environmental impact. It's impossible to complete everything in just four months.'
A spokesman for the developers' association acknowledged the issue, but declined to comment further. It is understood that Sun Hung Kai Properties has already submitted its bid, while New World Development and Hutchison are interested, along with a few smaller and mid-size developers.
Another industry source said the deadline for the tender should be extended by at least two or three months. Otherwise, he argued, only companies that had participated in the expression of interest exercise in late 2005 would have sufficient time to put in a bid. 'I don't mind giving other parties a chance to warm up during the expression of interest, but there should still be enough time for the open tender,' the industry source said.
Massimo Brancaleoni, a vice-president for cruise operator Costa Crociere, also said there might not be enough time to prepare everything for the tender. The subsidiary of Carnival, the world's largest cruise group, had been approached by some companies about forming a partnership for the tender but was still undecided, Mr Brancaleoni said.
US cruise company Royal Caribbean is also interested, but has yet to announce anything. A government source said although the tender was launched two months ago, the Tourism Commission had been consulting interested parties in the sector - and the association - since the government announced in October 2006 that it was proceeding with the Kai Tak option for the terminal.
'The aim was to give as much prior notice to interested parties as possible,' the government source said. Expressions of interest were sought two years ago while the Kai Tak Planning Review was carried out.
The successful bidder will design, build and run the new cruise facilities for 50 years, starting with the first berth in February 2012.
