MTR stations along the Tung Chung line will soon become a shoppers' heaven with more retail outlets being planned on the back of rising passenger flow which has seen annual growth of 10 per cent over the past five years.
The launch of the Tung Chung skyrail at the Ngong Ping 360 tourist attraction later this year is expected to spur growth, the MTR Corporation said.
The opening of Disneyland in September and AsiaWorld Expo in December last year boosted passenger numbers on the line.
'We expect the number of visitors to Lantau to be about 1.5 million a year after the cable car comes into service. We believe 60 per cent to 70 per cent of them, or about one million, will use the Tung Chung line,' said Jeny Yeung, the MTR Corp's general manager for marketing and station business.
'We want to become the main mode of transport for visitors to Tung Chung.'
However, Ms Yeung believed the growth rate would slow to below 10 per cent this year as several major residential developments in the area had already been occupied.
The number of daily commuters using the Tung Chung line ranged between 26,000 to 45,000 last year.