Summer opening for cable car in doubt
No guarantee on Ngong Ping 360 starting before September
Operators of the Ngong Ping 360 tourist attraction were unable to give any guarantees yesterday that the fault-plagued cable car would open this summer.
'We can't, unfortunately, make any exact announcement about the opening at this stage,' managing director Bill Calderwood said when asked if the company was optimistic that the cable car - suspended after it failed during trials last month - would start operations before September.
He said businesses in the Ngong Ping village at the top of the cable car were being given a rent-free period until the 'actual opening day'.
Fourteen of the 24 shops and restaurants at the Ngong Ping market are now open.
'We are now in the situation that we are looking into the preparatory tasks,' Mr Calderwood said. 'We said it would probably take two weeks to do that. With the successful completion of these tasks and moving into a trial run period, we'll then be in a position to talk about the opening.'
Operator Skyrail will then work with the MTR Corporation and the government to decide when to open to the public.
Mr Calderwood said a reliability test on the system - which left 500 invited guests stranded when it broke down on June 17, a week ahead of its original opening date - had been completed on Wednesday and a report sent to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.
Skyrail had indicated that it would take about two weeks to carry out other preparatory tasks such as drills and contingency tests upon satisfactory completion of the reliability tests, according to a government document to be discussed in the Legco panel on economic services on Tuesday .
Skyrail said last night that it had issued refunds for less than 100 tickets so far with all bookings made by travel agents.
'Almost all the customers requested a change of date,' a spokeswoman for the company said.
Responding to visitors' safety concerns, Mr Calderwood said the operator had upgraded the telephone system and improved crowd control at Ngong Ping.
According to Skyrail, the suspension of the service was caused by three technical issues - the system that controls the spacing of cable cars, a friction-related issue with the conveyor rail system and a failure of the gate leading to the cable-car parking area.
The cable car manufacturer Leitner has made adjustments to fine-tune the system.
Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said the council had not received any complaints about the delay of cable car services.
'The delay is understandable and accepted by travel agents. So they have held up promotion for the cable car for the time being,' Mr Tung said.
A spokesman for Hong Thai Travel Services, one of the city's most popular travel agencies, said : 'We haven't promoted [Ngong Ping 360] but I believe such a new facility remains attractive despite its previous problems. We are also waiting for good news.'
The MTR Corp said that it had to ensure reliability of the cable car before it could be opened. The Tourism Commission said last night: 'The government attaches great importance to the smooth and reliable operation of the cable-car system, and it will only be open to the public when its operation is smooth and reliable.'
