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Developer floats ambitious scheme that takes in West Kowloon, TST and Tamar

Parts of the old Kai Tak airport runway should be removed to create four islands of development and beautify Victoria Harbour, a major property developer has proposed.

Swire Properties suggests that a total of 10 hectares of the runway should be removed in four places, creating 'valuable waterfront residences in a spectacular island archipelago design'.

The plan is part of a harbour proposal the real estate developer will unveil today. The entire proposal will cover the Kai Tak site, the West Kowloon cultural district, Tsim Sha Tsui, Victoria Park and the Tamar site in Admiralty.

It is the first time a real estate developer has come up with a comprehensive harbour plan.

The developer, which displayed some of the plan on its website last night, believes Kai Tak should be turned into a tourism node for leisure and recreation.

The design puts a new aerospace museum at the end of the runway, making it an observation point on the harbour looking back to Central and out to the South China Sea.

The developer objects to the government's proposal for a cruise terminal, heliport, stadium and refuse transfer station at Kai Tak, saying the plans 'should be subjected to critical public debate'.

A spokeswoman for Swire said last night the runway, if cut into four islands, would improve water flow and help resolve pollution in the area.

Swire believes a cruise terminal should be built at West Kowloon where the government wants to house a cultural hub.

Instead of building a giant glass canopy at the West Kowloon waterfront, Swire prefers a 30-hectare park covered by a canopy made up of trees.

It proposes regenerating the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at Tsim Sha Tsui. The redevelopment would have a new 2,200-seat theatre, as well as concert halls and an arts complex.

Swire's plan includes a museum complex designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry on the Tamar site. The complex would house the new Hong Kong Museum of Modern Art.

Swire also wants to extend Victoria Park to the waterfront by submerging the proposed Central-Wan Chai bypass in a tunnel.

Swire joined the government's invitation for proposals last year on how the West Kowloon cultural district should be built.

But its plan was rejected because it failed to meet the government's mandatory requirement of a canopy covering the whole site.

The company continued developing its plan despite the setback.



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Swire

Swire plan cuts runway into islands