bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Olga Wong

Hopewell looks to speed up project
The Mega Tower - Hopewell Holdings' proposed 93-storey hotel skyscraper in Wan Chai - is no more.  The developer yesterday announced a revised plan,  cutting its height by 38 floors.
Fourteen controversy-filled years after the project was first approved, it has shrunk to 55 floors, bringing it below the Hong Kong Island ridge line and making it shorter than the nearby Hopewell Centre, which, at 60 floors, was once Hong Kong's tallest  building.
Announcing the changes yesterday, Hopewell managing director Thomas Jefferson Wu said he hoped they would speed up the project, which the company is now calling Hopewell Centre II.
The government is  seeking legal advice on whether the  scaled-down project needs fresh approval from the Town Planning Board.
'We have never seen a developer initiating such a large-scale reduction in an approved plan,' said Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. She said  that  regulations only require scaled-up projects  to secure a second approval from the board. The first plan was  approved  in 1994.
Wan Chai District Council will be consulted in January.
Despite the reduction, the 1,024-room hotel  is expected to be the biggest  on Hong Kong Island and will be the city's first conference hotel. Mr Wu said it  would be able to cater for conferences with 1,000 participants.
A spokesman for Hilton Hotels said  the group had  signed an exclusive  agreement with Hopewell to explore the possibility of co-developing the hotel.
Mr Wu promised to preserve as far as possible the green areas at the site between Kennedy Road and Queen's Road East and to revitalise the neighbouring grade-one listed historic mansion  Nam Koo Terrace.
Two public spaces totalling 5,880 square metres will be provided, one within the site managed by Hopewell according to government guidelines and an adjacent one managed by the government. The plan also includes road-improvement works such as widening Queen's Road East, which Mr Wu said would alleviate traffic congestion. They are subject to approval by the  Transport Department.
Mr Wu said the new plan demonstrated the company's determination to shoulder its  social responsibilities. He dismissed  speculation that it had made a deal with the government for a lower land premium in return for protecting the island ridge line.
A government source said   there was no hidden deal.
Mr Wu said the project's cost would fall by HK$2 billion, to   HK$5 billion.
Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors president Yu Kam-hung estimated the changes would reduce the tower's value by a quarter. Mr Wu said scaling it down did not necessarily make it less profitable.
A source in the company said it would not have revised the plan if it was not going to be profitable.
The project will provide construction work for 1,500, and  4,000 jobs. It     is expected to be finished  in 2015.



Mega Tower height cut by 38 floors