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Sandy Li

Chinachem's hotel-office project will vie for Hopewell-dominated business

Chinachem Group will open its flagship hotel in Tsuen Wan in September, launching an assault on Hopewell Holdings' domination of the hospitality business in one of the oldest satellite towns in Hong Kong.

Nina Tower, named after Chinachem Group chairman Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum,  comprises a 40-storey, 640-room hotel and an 80-storey, 1,000-room, hotel-office block. It also includes a nine-level retail and convention centre in Yeung Uk Road.

The soft opening of the first phase of 300 rooms in the 40-storey hotel block, to be called L'Hotel Nina Tower One, will be held in September, in line with the schedule for Hong Kong Disneyland.

Another hotel in the 80-storey, hotel-office block will be opened next year. Both will be five star.

Over the past decade, Hopewell's 1,026-room Panda Hotel, about 10 minutes' walk  from Chinachem's, has been the only supply in Tsuen Wan.

Shrugging off fears of a potential hotel glut in the district, George Kuk Hin-fai, director of Chinachem's hotel division, said its five-star hotels were different.

'Our project will provide various choices for tourists,' Mr Kuk said, citing its 50,000 sqft convention and exhibition centre, which is expected to attract business travellers.

With Hong Kong Disneyland opening on September 12 and China expanding the solo travel scheme to more cities, Mr Kuk was confident of bright prospects for the hospitality market.

The completion of Nina Tower was delayed for years after the project, designed to be the world's tallest building with 108 stories in early 1994, was forced to change to lower twin towers because it was in a flight path.

In 2002, Chinachem lost a court battle against the government over a $550 million penalty for construction delays.

Chinachem was marketing the complex in Shanghai, and had received several inquiries about bookings for hotel rooms and trade fairs, said Mr Kuk, who was the former executive director of Sino Hotels before joining Chinachem in 1997.

The Chinachem complex also has a 120-table banquet hall with a nine-metre high ceiling, a 300,000 sqft shopping mall catering for high-end retailers, and two 50-metre indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

'Our mall may include a department store, as we are trying to create another Lan Kwai Fong-style entertainment spot in Tsuen Wan,' he said.

The top of the 80-storey building could feature a lounge area, he said.

'Tsuen Wan is going to have a big facelift,' he said, referring to the construction of other trendy developments in the neighbourhood  that would transform the town into a modern tourist district over the next couple of years.

Opposite the Chinachem development, Sino Land is building a 1,900-unit residential and commercial project.

Two other projects - Sun Hung Kai Properties'  1,624-unit Chelsea Court  and Kwong Sang Hong's  960-unit Indi Home  - will be completed next year.

'We will build several footbridges to connect the complex with Tsuen Wan West station and to nearby developments to enhance accessibility,' he said.

The group will also open the 275-room L'Hotel Causeway Bay  Harbour View Hong Kong in July.

Other hotels coming on stream include its luxury L'Hotel Repulse Bay in Repulse Bay and L'Hotel Island South along Wong Chuk Hang Road.



Nina Tower will spice up Tsuen Wan rivalry