Lawmakers push for ‘Monaco-style’ marina in Hong Kong’s Hung Hom development
Suggestions for ‘world-class’ yacht berthing facility include incorporating luxury properties to attract high-end tourists and investors
The proposed development of the Hung Hom waterfront should include immigration facilities for a new yacht marina and incorporate luxury residential property within the complex to attract high-end tourists and investors to Hong Kong, lawmakers have said.
The suggestions were made on Tuesday during the legislature’s development panel meeting, where lawmakers discussed the government’s preliminary proposal for the Hung Hom harbourfront, which includes constructing a “world-class” yacht berthing facility to accommodate up to 200 vessels.
Lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who also convenes Hong Kong’s top policy decision-making body, said that the proposed marina should be equipped with customs, immigration, quarantine and maintenance facilities.
“The yacht economy is not only about having a breakwater … In the cases of Barcelona and Monte Carlo, they have established an industry chain with supporting facilities including maintenance and gadgets,” she said.
“It is not only about having berths and earning money from the mooring fees.”
Hung Hom is one of three proposed locations for additional berths, aiming to provide a total of 600 places, following Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s announcement last October of initiatives to boost yacht tourism.