Property developers in the city are expected to unite to demand the government give them more time to prepare their bids for the cruise terminal tender, saying it is impossible to prepare tenders for such an important project in the allotted four months.
The government launched the open tender for the development of a new cruise terminal at Kai Tak on November 9. Tenders must be submitted by noon on March 7.
Industry sources said the Real Estate Developers Association plans to send a letter to the government after it meets on Friday, calling for an extension of the deadline. Members have already met once, last month, to discuss the issue.
'If the government is serious about developing a world-class cruise terminal, you need a world-class architect,' one developer interested in the project said. 'Just coming up with a design takes at least a few months. Then, you need to sort out the financing and environmental impact. It's impossible to complete everything in just four months.'
A spokesman for the developers' association acknowledged the issue, but declined to comment further. It is understood that Sun Hung Kai Properties has already submitted its bid, while New World Development and Hutchison are interested, along with a few smaller and mid-size developers.
Another industry source said the deadline for the tender should be extended by at least two or three months. Otherwise, he argued, only companies that had participated in the expression of interest exercise in late 2005 would have sufficient time to put in a bid. 'I don't mind giving other parties a chance to warm up during the expression of interest, but there should still be enough time for the open tender,' the industry source said.
