Hong Kong government welcomes proposal to convert unused Disneyland plot into temporary Dutch floral park
Plan is subject to approval by lawmakers while supporters say project could bring more visitors to the city, especially since the theme park will not develop the site until 2023
A reserved plot of reclaimed land for the second phase of Hong Kong Disneyland’s expansion could be temporarily converted into a Dutch-designed garden for visitors, the company behind the project said on Monday.
The proposed short-term use of the 60-hectare (148-acre) site came after lawmakers grilled the government over the idle plot amid the city’s notorious shortage of land supply.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah, who is on a 13-day Europe work trip with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said the government welcomed the plan after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the Netherlands.
The agreement, which was inked in the town of Noordwijkerhout, was between Alan Fang, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur behind construction work to be carried out on the Disneyland plot, and Dutch floriculture expert Ibo Gülsen, who will oversee the creative part of the project.
Called Kaleido Park, the European-style garden, if approved by lawmakers, would be the first of its kind in Hong Kong, according to Fang.