Cheung Kong (Holdings) suffered a major setback last night in its efforts to build a cruise terminal in North Point. The Town Planning Board voted down the controversial plan amid fierce objections from rivals and public criticism. 'The board questioned whether North Point is the best location for a terminal and would like to further consider alternative proposed locations,' a board spokeswoman said. The board had previously given approval in principle for Cheung Kong's plan to build the terminal next to a hotel project. For the plan to proceed, it would have required that the Government grant the company a 90,000-square-foot site. The reversal followed a public outcry and an alternative plan to build a cruise terminal in Kowloon Bay. After the North Point terminal proposal was mentioned in the Budget speech in March, there were suggestions the Government might be unfairly favouring Cheung Kong, owned by Li Ka-shing. Wharf (Holdings), which owns the Ocean Terminal, also attacked the plan. The board spokeswoman said the new decision would be open for consultation for two weeks. The Chief Executive-in-Council would make a final decision afterwards. The board did give approval last night to the Cyber-Port development in Pokfulam, a project by Pacific Century CyberWorks, controlled by Mr Li's son Richard. Also last night, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation received the go-ahead to build what might become the second tallest building in the world at Kowloon Station. The 102-storey office tower will soar 580 metres into the air, just overtaken by a proposed 609-metre residential and commercial skyscraper in Chicago. Without counting architectural features such as antennae, the Kowloon Station tower, at 480 metres, would be taller than the Chicago building, at 472 metres. The Kowloon Station tower would be comfortably taller than the present record-holder, Kuala Lumpur's 452-metre Petronas Towers. Hong Kong's tallest building now is the 374-metre Central Plaza in Wan Chai. Other proposed skyscrapers include the 400-metre, 88-storey Two International Finance Centre at Hong Kong Station in Central and Wharf's 405-metre, 100-storey commercial tower in Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
