Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo presses government for second-phase development
Exhibition organiser says development of adjacent site near airport would complement planned Lantau developments and boost city’s commercial tourism
AsiaWorld-Expo – the exhibition facility near the airport – is pressing the government to allow it to develop an adjacent site, saying it would complement planned developments on Lantau Island and greatly boost the city’s commercial tourism.
Allen Ha Wing-on, chief executive officer of AsiaWorld-Expo, made the call on Monday as he noted that conditions were ripe for the 53,000 square metre site to be kick-started for its second-phase development.
“The site has been earmarked and is ready for convention and exhibition development. We think now is the time for action. All we need is the government’s approval to start this project,” he said, adding that they had had some preliminary discussions with the government one year ago.
Ha said they hoped to develop the site as AsiaWorld-Expo’s existing 70,000 sq m of rentable space had reached saturation point with double-digit growth for the past seven years.
“This year the number of days with full capacity reached a record high of 66 – six days more than last year. The peak spring and autumn season has always been fully booked. Sometimes we are forced to reject big international events due to a lack of space. It’s a great pity,” he said.
Over the past financial year, AsiaWorld-Expo hosted over 300 big events, with 43 of them accommodating over 8,000 visitors and another 78 catering to 4,000 people.