MTRC to run Lantau cable car

The MTRC has been given the rights to run a cable car from Tung Chung to near the Big Buddha on Lantau, despite fears from monks that restaurants and facilities associated with the $750 million project could destroy the area's religious environment.

The monks even warned that they may have to close the Po Lin Monastery to visitors because the project could drain their funds. Environmental groups also expressed concerns about the project, scheduled for completion in August 2005.

However, speaking after announcing the awarding of the contract at a meeting of Legco's economic services panel, Tourism Commissioner Rebecca Lai Ko Wing-yee claimed that religious and green groups had been consulted and their demands fully considered. 'The design . . . will preserve the tranquil atmosphere, and we would not allow it to be damaged,' she said.

Under the plan, a 5.5km cable car line will link Tung Chung MTR station, Chek Lap Kok airport and a terminal on the plateau west of the monastery and the Big Buddha. It will be jointly managed by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and Skyrail-ITM of Australia.

A theme village with shops, restaurants and a museum will be built along a 'tourist corridor', with 6,000 square metres of shop space and an 18,600-square-metre piazza between the terminal and the monastery. The government will build supporting facilities such as roads and sewage works at an estimated cost of $70 million. The MTRC will have rights to develop and run businesses in the tourist corridor.

A one-way ticket for the 17-minute ride will cost $50, and a round-trip ticket $66, based on 2000 prices. The MTRC will pay a $1 royalty to the government for every ticket under the 30-year franchise. It is expected the cable car will carry about 1.25 million passengers in 2006, and 1.65 million by 2016.

The supervisor of the Po Lin Monastery, the Reverend Sik Chi-wai, said they welcomed the cable car project but strongly opposed the building of restaurants or hotels near the monastery. He said it would disrupt the peace necessary for spiritual training and hurt the monastery's income.