Plan to cut off-peak ferries from Ma Wan to Hong Kong Island rejected
Residents at Park Island development rely on the services for convenient access to the city centre
Ma Wan is home to the sprawling Park Island residential development, whose 12,000 residents rely on the services for quick access to the city centre.
The proposal from Park Island Transport Company Limited (PITCL), the island’s main public transport operator, sparked complaints among residents and was rejected by its owners’ committee last month. But the company proceeded to take its plan to the transport authority.
That led to the department officially rejecting the plan, after it met the company and owners’ committee on Friday.
At the meeting, the department reiterated that the developer of Park Island, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), was obliged to provide proper ferry and bus services to and from Ma Wan, under the deal it signed with the government in order to acquire the land lease.
PITCL, a subsidiary wholly owned by SHKP, was founded to operate two ferry routes as well as bus services to and from Ma Wan in 2002, when flats at Park Island started to be completed in phases, on the island between Lantau Island and Tsing Yi.