Editorial | Finding the right price for Kai Tak vision
- While the government does not want to send the wrong signal about its commitment to the future of the harbourfront site, it risks delaying the whole project by holding out for what it thinks the land is worth
The withdrawal also indirectly raises the issue of government intervention in the free market. Hong Kong remains a market economy, but there has been a lot of debate about the role of government since the financial tsunami and the inflation in asset prices driven by fiscal stimulus. Ultimately it led to public acceptance of the need for government measures to cool soaring property prices. That said, the way back to economic and job growth still lies in infrastructure and building projects in which the private sector leads and the government facilitates, as the saying goes.
The overall Kai Tak vision of commercial and residential development, including a sporting complex, remains worthy of support. Understandably the government does not want to send the wrong signal about its commitment to the vision. The price it risks paying in the short term by holding out for what it thinks the land is worth is a delay to the whole project.
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