The Kai Tak Sports Park won’t be finished until at least 2022 but it seems a pretty safe bet the Hong Kong government cannot wait to wash its hands of the whole thing.
It’s been 20 years in the making and, even though the tender process is now in motion, there is plenty of water to go under the bridge before Hong Kong has a shiny new stadium.
The tender submission window is open until June 29 and it could take as long as nine months to award the contract.
The arrival of Formula E in Hong Kong was considered a great coup for the government. Photo: Reuters
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How long the Sports Park will take to actually build is anyone’s guess – don’t mention the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge saga – but it’s likely the powers that be are stealing a sneaky glance at the clock, even if it is their own saturation of bureaucracy that is stretching out the process.
The Sports Park will operate on a self-financing basis without any government subsidies, putting the onus on the winning bidder and their sports promotion arm to attract enough events to keep the accountants happy.
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All sounds good in theory, but the winning consortium – from either Guangzhou R&F Properties, New World Development or Dragages Hong Kong – will face an almighty struggle in bucking a deep-seated trend fostered for years by the government.
The Hong Kong Sevens remains the pinnacle of sport in the city. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
