The Aberdeen and Kennedy Town Promenade

Although Hong Kong is made up of 200-plus islands, the ability to walk along the water is all too rare. Thanks to poor town planning, precious waterfront space all around Hong Kong island is being hogged by carparks, tunnel ventilation shafts, water treatment facilities and highways.

But now there’s hope—Southern District Councilors, led by Pok Fu Lam District Councilor and Designing Hong Kong convener Paul Zimmerman, have identified a stretch of land already dotted with quiet spots and short walkways, and have proposed connecting these areas by building a waterfront promenade stretching from Aberdeen to Kennedy Town. Though ambitious, the project is well-thought out and entirely feasible—that is, if the councilors can get around bureaucratic red tape.

“The promenade will benefit all the local residents. They can walk along the waterfront, and enjoy the views and the cool air. It will be primarily flat, so it’s easily accessible even for people with disabilities and of old age,” says Pok Fu Lam District Councilor Paul Zimmerman, who is one of the promenade’s biggest advocates.

The proposed walk will also attract more visitors to the area, thereby benefiting the local economy. However, Zimmerman emphasizes that the link is a community initiative rather than some large-scale project aimed at visitors. “Tourism means people coming in from overseas and the mainland Chinese coming by buses,” Zimmerman says. “This is not aimed at attracting overseas tourists.”

Back in May, the Southern District Council endorsed the proposal. The next step to make the project a reality is to conduct an independent study that looks into the viability of the project. The proposal looks achievable, because the main parts of the proposed promenade—namely the waterfront parks, such as the Waterfall Bay Park—already exist and simply need to be connected. There’s no need for major construction work. “I think it is very feasible to put this together. There are three bits that need a bit more infrastructural work,” Zimmerman says.

The work that requires most resources will be the construction of a footbridge over the waterfall near Wah Fu Estate, which has a roughly estimated price tag of $30 million. The government also has to build a road connecting the Sandy Bay waterfront and the Cyberport Waterfront Park as well as a walking path along the rocky waterfront of Sandy Bay. For some of the minor works, which cost less than $21 million, the District Council can apply for other funding from the District Minor Works Programme, which is organized by the Home Affairs Department.