Exclusive | Hong Kong’s troubled Ocean Park set to tap public purse again for up to HK$2 billion
- Theme park plans to ask the government for the funds to sustain operations for about a year before overhauling its business model, sources say
- Government and Ocean Park will reveal the funding and business plans on Monday at the earliest
Two separate sources said the theme park in Southern district planned to ask the government for HK$1 billion (US$127 million) to HK$2 billion to sustain its operations for about a year. The 44-year-old attraction was forced to close for business for about 200 days last year because of coronavirus-related social-distancing measures.
The government and Ocean Park will reveal the funding and business plans on Monday at the earliest.
“The funding plan is an interim arrangement aimed at bridging the park’s transition to a new business model,” a source familiar with the situation said.
One of the city’s longest-serving tourist attractions, the Wong Chuk Hang park is looking to the future by upgrading its existing offerings of wildlife such as giant pandas, meerkats and dolphins and its signature roller coaster and rides. Ocean Park is a statutory body and the government appoints its board of directors.
The park was once a key stop on the itinerary of mainland Chinese visitors until their numbers began drying up during the city’s social unrest in 2019 followed by Hong Kong’s near lockdown last year.
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The latest funding request is the second in less than a year after the park obtained a government bailout of HK$5.4 billion in May. The rescue deal was watered down from the original HK$10.6 billion amid an outcry from lawmakers.
The source said the park was in the process of revamping its business model, which could take some years, and the new funds were needed to cover ongoing operating expenses of at least HK$100 million a month.
In the financial year to June 30, the park’s operating deficit ballooned to HK$1.2 billion from HK$588.1 million a year earlier, with the performance reflecting the impact of the unrest and then Covid-19.
According to its annual report, the park used HK$3.07 billion from the first bailout to repay commercial loans and settle related financing costs for its Tai Shue Wan Redevelopment Project, which includes a new water park.
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As a result of the bailout, Ocean Park recorded a surplus of HK$1.9 billion last year against a HK$557.3 million deficit in 2018-19.
The park, which employed about 2,000 staff last year, was forced to suspend business on December 2 because of the city’s fourth wave of infections and a date to reopen remains unknown.
The government aims to leverage Ocean Park’s brand and its location to develop a tourism hub in a project called Invigorating Island South.