Hong Kong’s largest public transport interchange, with city’s first air-conditioned bus depots, to open at Kwun Tong on April 2
- Two-storey facility will have a bus terminal serving eight routes on the upper floor and a minibus terminal serving 21 routes on the lower platform
- Air-conditioned indoor waiting area will be linked to shopping centre, and artificial intelligence will help ensure safety at bus gates
Hong Kong’s largest public transport interchange, boasting the city’s first air-conditioned bus depots, is set to open on April 2 in one of the city’s biggest redevelopment areas.
Spanning 161,000 sq ft, the new public transport interchange at Kwun Tong’s Yue Man Square will be the largest such facility in the city, according to a blog post by Wai Chi-sing, managing director of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), on Sunday.
It is part of the multibillion-dollar Kwun Tong Town Centre Project, one of the biggest plans undertaken by the URA, which has been going on since March 2007. Occupying an area of more than 500,000 sq ft, the town centre project will affect more than 1,600 property sites and over 5,000 residents.
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The public transport interchange will have two floors, with a new bus terminal serving eight routes on the upper floor, while a minibus terminal serving 21 routes will be located on the ground floor.
“The opening of the interchange will mark a new milestone in the renewal of Kwun Tong’s old district,” he wrote.
“I hope this project can provide safer, more comfortable and high-quality urban life and public services to hundreds of thousands of passengers, drivers and residents every day.”
The indoor waiting area of the terminal is integrated with a shopping centre, allowing passengers to wait for buses in an air-conditioned environment.
Sensors linked to an artificial intelligence system will be installed at each bus gate to enhance safety standards. The sensors will ensure the gates only open when passengers are boarding the buses.
The minibus terminal on the ground floor will be five times larger than the current temporary minibus stations and will cover an area of nearly 97,000 sq ft. It will serve 21 green and red minibus routes along Kwun Tong Road, Yue Man Square, Tung Yan Street and Hip Wo Street.
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Smart ventilation devices will be placed at the minibus terminal to ensure the flow of fresh air.
The terminal will connect all 10 entrances and exits at the interchange, which are linked to main streets including Yue Man Square, Hip Wo Street, Mut Wah Street and Hong Ning Road.
These entrances and exits are also connected to a 24-hour pedestrian passage in the shopping centre.
Shops and markets near the terminal will also be put into service after the interchange’s opening to “improve the local environment and the quality of life of residents” brought by the redevelopment of Kwun Tong old district.
