Chinachem rethinks hotels

Chinachem Group has dropped plans to build two of its four proposed hotels in view of the tourism downturn, preferring to build office and residential developments instead.

A source at Chinachem said it was not viable to proceed with the proposed conversion of an office at 338 King's Road in North Point amid sluggishness in the hospitality industry.

The 30-storey office building was near completion and had secured some tenants, the source said.

'We decided to leave the building as office premises instead,' he said.

The group, controlled by Nina Wang Jung Yu-sum, also gave up a proposed hotel development in Castle Peak Road, located next to its Hong Kong Garden residential project in Tsing Lung Tau.

The source said the hotel plan had been a preliminary idea only and the group had now opted for a residential project on the site which commanded a view of the Tsing Ma Bridge.

Chinachem would proceed with the other two hotels planned in Causeway Bay and in Tsuen Wan.

The proposed four hotels were revealed in 1997 as part of its $30 billion expansion plan.

The source expected the 300-room four-star hotel in Causeway Bay would be completed in two to three years.

In Tsuen Wan, the group proposed to build a 46-storey hotel and a 79-storey hotel-office to replace the 108-storey Nina Tower development which it was forced to scrap due to height restrictions.

The revised project would be named Nina Towers and provide a gross floor area of about two million square feet.

Chinachem has yet to finalise plans to redevelop two commercial buildings in Central - Wing On Life Building and Wing On Central Building - into grade-A office towers, the source said.

The group was still working on details of a proposed luxury residential development in Repulse Bay, he said.

The site was bought for $5.55 billion at a Government land auction in 1997.