What build professionals need to know about Hong Kong – part one
Posted by Lewis Ashenden on Friday, November 19, 2010
What build professionals need to know about Hong Kong – part one
A Maxim Recruitment overview of the extensive Hong Kong build market. In the first part of this, we examine the Kai Tak Development.
The Hong Kong Government has approved many major projects of late to help increase the amount of housing and accessibility to the region of Hong Kong which is experiencing a significant boom at present, even greater than the one felt in the 1990’s. This boom has created the need for more developments, such as New Development Areas to increase efficiency and give rise to the Hong Kong economy. The most prestigious project at present being the Kai Tak Development (KTD) that will replace the old national airport site and create many more construction jobs in Hong Kong.
The New Town Development Programme, which the Hong Kong Government set up in 1973, has led to the development of nine new towns. The main reason being the need to decentralise the over populated urban areas in Hong Kong and develop new communities to stabilise the population growth and over crowding in the cities. Despite this the population continues to grow. Currently at around 7.0 million, growing from 4.2 million in the 1970’s. This means that despite creating new towns such as Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Tuen Man, Tai Po, Fanling/Sheung Shui, and Yuen Long throughout the 1970’s and then Tseung Kwan O, Tin Shui Wai and Tung Chung throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. The government needs to create new towns and development areas.
The development of Kai Tak is one of these new developments approved by HKSAR. It has a theme of ‘a New Harbour Front, City of Heritage, Green, Sports and Tourism’. The Project has been split up into three different sections, each with differing target dates for completion. Stage 1 of the development began in 2009 with plans to be finished by 2013. The second stage aims to be completed by 2016 and stage 3 in 2021 marking the completion of the impressive Kai Tak Development.
The three stages are being separated in order to increase organisation and co-ordination. The first stage, which has already, began being constructed, aims to construct a public housing development, schools and Kai Tak government offices, a cruise terminal, runway park and waterfront promenade. The second phase which aims to be completed by 2016 plans to develop the roads and access routes to the development such as Route 6 (Central Kowloon Route), Shatin to Central Link (Tai Wai to Hung Hom), Underground street to Kowloon City and San Po Kong and the Kai Tak River. Stage 2 also plans to construct residential and commercial developments, the cruise terminal building, a heliport and a bio-remediation of Kai Tak approach channel and the Kwun Tong typhoon shelter. Finally, the third stage which aims to be completed by 2021 plans to construct a multi-purpose stadium complex, Metro Park, residential and commercial developments, a rail based environmentally friendly transport system and a district cooling system.