Kai Tak will become a government office cluster, with a site reserved for relocating staff working in Wan Chai.
The former airport site in Kowloon City may also see the development of a watersports centre at the runway, as harbour advisers supported a proposal from rowing and canoeing groups yesterday.
The office cluster is among a series of land use changes made by the Planning Department in the zoning plan, which was tabled for the Town Planning Board to discuss tomorrow.
A 0.88-hectare commercial site facing Prince Edward Road East is proposed for rezoning so that it will be one of the sites for relocation of some of the 27 government departments in Wan Chai. Other staff will be moved to Tseung Kwan O.
The move is expected to speed up office development in Kai Tak. The gross floor area for office, retail and hotel uses has been increased by 5 per cent to 1.9 million square metres in the latest zoning plan.
Residential space has also been increased to allow an extra 1,200 flats, bringing the total to 33,200 for a population of 89,800.
To preserve the 280-metre remnants of the Lun Tsun stone bridge, built in the 1870s to welcome Qing dynasty officials and which was unearthed a few years ago, a 30-metre-wide corridor has been designated.