Hong Kong Town Planning Board rejects proposal to switch 2 prime sites at former Kai Tak airport from commercial to housing use
- Keeping commercial plots will be good for city’s long-term economic development, some board members say
- Government last year said five commercial sites at Kai Tak would be turned over for private housing to produce 6,000 flats
Keeping the commercial plots would be good for the city’s long-term economic development, some board members said, as it had been planned for the runway to become a tourism hub.
“After discussions, the board agreed the two sites should serve to support the tourism node on the runway, where we already have the cruise terminal,” a board spokeswoman said on Friday night.
Kai Tak has been under development as part of a second central business district with Kowloon East, with mixed uses including commercial, residential, tourism, sports and recreation.
The board, comprising professionals and community representatives, met on Friday to discuss government-proposed amendments to the outline zoning plan for Kai Tak, which included rezoning five commercial plots for housing.
With the city facing a severe shortage of land for homes, the government last year announced that five commercial sites at Kai Tak would be turned over for private housing, able to produce 6,000 flats. Three sites are located on the runway, with a capacity for 3,000 flats, while the other two are on the former northern airport apron area.
