Controversial Avenue of Stars upgrade scrapped but Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront to remain closed
Proposals for 500m addition featuring dining, film and performance venues on Tsim Sha Tsui’s eastern waterfront triggered public outcry over lack of an open tender and consultation
A highly controversial plan to develop an extension to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront has been scrapped because of a public backlash, but the popular Avenue of Stars will still remain closed until 2018.
The decision, announced by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department on Wednesday, goes some way to address criticism that the project to transform the promenade into a dining, film and performance boulevard was not tendered openly and the public was not consulted properly.
But the fact remains that while developer New World will no longer be closing off the entire stretch of waterfront for three years, much of it will still be off limits for a shorter period to allow a smaller-scale facelift by the government.
And the Avenue of Stars, which New World has been managing since 2004, will remain closed until towards the end of 2018.