50-Year Deal Planned for Cruise Ship Terminal

Reports said that successful bidder for the two-berth cruise terminal at the old Kai Tak airport site in Hong Kong will have the right to operate the terminal and its supporting facilities for 50 years. The Economic Development and Labor Bureau Tuesday announced its decision to surrender the site to the private sector, saying it would be better suited to developing a competitive, world-class terminal in a short period of time. The berths must be able to accommodate "mega" vessels weighing up to 100,000 tons - a limit that will still rule out many of the industry's newer cruise ships. A third cruise berth, while also in the government plans, will undergo a separate tender exercise sometime in the future.

The bidder will be limited to 50,000 square meters of gross floor area for the development of the terminal and any accompanying retail facilities, which can be built in phases. The bidder must also build requisite ticketing, security, customs and baggage facilities. Source: The Standard