Taxi proposal may allow Discovery Bay hotel project to resume

A hotel project in Discovery Bay may resume if a developer's proposal to allow taxis and coaches to stop there is approved.

But Hong Kong Resort, developer for both Discovery Bay and the hotel, is likely to face objections from residents - especially those who have lived in the area for years because it is clean and quiet. Hong Kong Resort is a subsidiary of parent company HKR International.

The Transport Department said it received the proposal two weeks ago. A spokeswoman said it would consider residents' opinions and their transport needs before reaching a conclusion.

No vehicles - except approved shuttle bus services and delivery vans - are allowed into the tunnel that links the area to the outside world.

A consultation document that the developer distributed to the bay's 13,000 residents on Tuesday proposed that a tunnel and an underpass linking the toll plaza and Yi Pak Bay be opened to urban taxis, New Territories taxis and coaches. The vehicles would be allowed to pass the public transport interchange and stop at the hotel. Posts would be set up at two points to stop vehicles encroaching on the estate.

The developer said the proposal was good for the bay's growing population, and especially useful to the elderly, pregnant women and the sick. A spokesman said there was no plan yet to resume the hotel project, halted last year amid the downturn.