Kai Tak Water Sports Centre targets mid-2020 opening, with government set to approve five-year land lease
- Hong Kong Water Sports Council vice-chairman Mike Tanner says he expects the Home Affairs Bureau to grant the tenancy within the next few months
- The centre will cater to flat-water sports such as dragon boating, rowing, canoeing and live saving
A proposed water sports centre at the old Kai Tak runway could be in operation by the middle of 2020, with the government expressing support for an application by the relevant sports bodies to lease and develop the site.
In a project that was first launched in 2007, a 4,000-square-metre site at the old fire station near the former airport is finally set to be handed over to the Hong Kong Water Sports Council (HKWSC) – a body made up of members from Hong Kong’s major water sports governing associations – on a five-year short-term tenancy (STT).
Joey Yu, senior information officer for the Home Affairs Bureau, said the government was keen to back projects that were in line with its sports policy objectives.
“The Hong Kong Water Sports Council is applying for the use of a vacant site on the former Kai Tak Runway (i.e. the ex-Kai Tak Airport Fire Station) by way of an STT for the setting up of a water sports centre,” Yu said.
“We maintain our support for the application, the processing of which is expected to be completed shortly.”