Legco gives green light to HK$62.7 million for Kai Tak stadium
A decade after its initial suggestion, the Finance Committee finally approves funding required for pre-construction work to proceed on sports complex
Hong Kong's sports community can breathe a sigh of relief after HK$62.7 million in pre-construction funds for the Kai Tak Multi-purpose Sports Complex was approved last night.
After more than two hours of debate, Legislative Council Finance Committee members cast their vote - with 29 for, 12 against and one abstention.
The HK$62.7 million will be used for consultancy studies on technical and quantity surveying, ground investigation as well as topographic and tree surveys before the actual construction on the venues can go ahead.
We believe the new facility will not only be used by the local sports community, but also attract overseas users
The approval has taken more than a decade after the idea for a sports complex was first put forward in 2004 and since then it has courted controversy.
From its passage through the Legco Home Affairs panel, the public works subcommittee to last night's Finance Committee, discussions had been heated at every step as lawmakers feared the project, estimated to cost taxpayers a staggering HK$25 billion in construction, would become a white elephant.
If everything goes according to the plan, construction can start in two years on a complex featuring a 50,000-seat main stadium with a retractable roof, a multi-purpose sports ground (5,000 seats) and an indoor multi-purpose centre (4,000 seats). All these venues will be built at the former Kai Tai airport site by 2021 at the latest.
"We have appointed a consultant on the operations of the future sports complex and we believe the new facility will not only be used by the local sports community, but also attract overseas users for sporting events, entertainment, business and exhibitions," Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Fung Ching Suk-yee said last night.
"The current Hong Kong Stadium has a usage rate of about 30 days a year because there are many restrictions such as noise and public access, but the new facility is more viable."