Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

Kai Tak cruise terminal, to be constructed at the site of the former Kai Tak Airport, its completion date is recently delayed to 2013 due to re-tendering.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip says the Government will focus on the development of a new cruise terminal at Kai Tak to help Hong Kong become a regional cruise hub. Its first berth is slated to open by 2012.

Heavy demand

The annual berth utilisation rate of Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, which offers two berths accommodating vessels of up to 50,000 tonnes, rose to 76% last year from 71% in 2003. Between 2001 and 2005, some 11 cruise vessels had to berth mid-stream and at container terminals because Ocean Terminal could not meet market demand.

Mr Ip said Hong Kong needs an additional berth between 2009 and 2015, and one to two more berths beyond 2015 to capture the growth of the regional cruise market. New cruise terminal facilities could bolster Hong Kong's coffers by up to $2.2 billion a year by 2020, and offer almost 11,000 jobs.

Mr Ip said the six suggestions received in last year's study on whether there are feasible locations other than Kai Tak, could not meet the Government's requirements in full.

Development plan

Development of the new facilities on the 76,000 square metres of land earmarked at the end of the former airport runway includes:

* berthing facilities - two alongside berths of 800 metres, an apron area, fender system and passenger gangways;

* support facilities - located mainly in the cruise terminal building, such as customs, immigration, quarantine counters, and baggage handling; and,

* a commercial area inside the cruise terminal building with a maximum gross floor area of 50,000 square metres for offices and retail facilities.

The Government will adopt a market-driven approach in the new development. Selected through an open tender exercise, the successful bidder will own the 76,000 square metres of land for a 50-year period and form the site as well as design, build and operate the terminal.

A pre-tender consultation with relevant trades will be conducted in the first half of next year to expedite the pace of development, followed by invitation of tenders in the fourth quarter. The tender will be awarded in the second quarter of 2008. The estimated development cost, excluding that for the commercial area, is about $2.4 billion.

Tender Invitation

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government issued an open tender on November 9. 2007 for the development of the new cruise terminal. With its prominent location, the cruise terminal is expected to be iconic and project an image befitting the position of Hong Kong as “Asia's world city” and a major tourist destination.

The Government welcomes local and overseas tenderers who possess the minimum requirement of three years' immediate experience in operating a cruise terminal with a minimum annual throughput of 200,000 embarking and disembarking homeport passengers.

The new cruise terminal will comprise, inter alia, about 30,000 square metres for a baggage handling area, a passenger waiting/queuing area, a customs, immigration and health quarantine area and accommodation for other government departments; a maximum of 50,000 square metres in the cruise terminal building for such purposes as hotels, retail space, convention halls, offices, shops and eating places; and at least 22,000 square metres for a landscaped deck.

The successful tenderer is expected to design, build, operate, manage and maintain the new cruise terminal for 50 years and to begin operating the first berth in February 2012.

To facilitate monitoring of the operation of the new cruise terminal, the successful tenderer will be required to enter into a service agreement with the Government. The service agreement will incorporate the successful tenderer's proposals and service pledges for the operation and management of the new cruise terminal. It will be co-terminous with the land lease.

The Government will adopt a two-envelope tender approach, with 70% weighting to be given to the quality aspects and 30% to the premium aspects in the assessment of the bids. The Tender Assessment Panel, chaired by the Commissioner for Tourism and comprising representatives of the relevant Government bureaus and departments, will assess the technical aspects as well as the operation and management aspects of the bids. Key technical aspects for assessment will include, for example, the robustness of the construction programme and the efficiency and effectiveness of the cruise terminal building layout. Major operational aspects will include the service pledges on operation and management and proposed disclosure arrangements. The assessment criteria are set out in the tender documents.

The Tender Assessment Panel was advised by international experts appointed by the Tourism Commission and the Civil Engineering and Development Department. The experts will act as consultants and provide inputs to the panel on cruise terminal operation and engineering aspects. The tender closed at noon on Friday, March 7, 2008 (Hong Kong time).

Re-tender

On 9 July 2008, the Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Frederick Ma announced that the Kai Tak cruise development project will be re-tendered as submissions received in the previous exercise did not conform with requirements. Mr Ma said two submissions were received in the previous tendering exercise which closed in March. One submission called for hotel rooms to be individually sold off, while the other asked to develop more commercial area.

The Government will seek lawmakers' approval to fund the site formation works and facilities required for the provision of government services in this year's fourth quarter. The estimated cost ranges from $1.8 billion to $2 billion, but the Government may revise the figure after considering other factors.

Subject to lawmakers' approval, the Government will re-tender the site by year's end, aiming to award the tender by the third quarter of 2009. The first berth of the new cruise terminal is expected to begin operation by the second quarter of 2013. [ [http://www3.news.gov.hk/isd/ebulletin/en/category/businessandfinance/080709/html/080709en03004.htm Cruise terminal project to be re-tendered ] ]

References

* Hong Kong Government announcement. [http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/businessandfinance/061024/html/061024en03003.htm]