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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-04-05 07:00
Last update date: 2021-04-05 07:00
The government announced on Wednesday (March 31) that it has executed the land grant documents and will grant land at a nominal land price to Ma Wan Park Co., Ltd., which is wholly-owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties.
The government stated that the two sides agreed that the second phase of the Ma Wan Park development will focus on the conservation, restoration and renovation of the Ma Wan Old Village to revitalize and reuse the Ma Wan Park in accordance with the Ma Wan Park master plan approved by the Town Planning Commission in 2014.
The two parties also agreed that the second phase of Ma Wan Park will be completed within three years from the date of land grant.
The government and Sun Hung Kai Properties signed a project agreement in June 1997, stipulating the implementation of various development projects on Ma Wan Island, including the construction of Ma Wan Park.
The first phases of Park Island and Ma Wan Park were completed in 2002 and 2007. "Noah's Ark" has been in operation since 2008 on a short-term lease with a symbolic rent.
The government and Sun Hung Kai Properties signed a project agreement in June 1997, stipulating the implementation of various development projects on Ma Wan Island, including the construction of Ma Wan Park.
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The second phase has been delayed again and again
However, the initial project agreement did not specify the details and completion date of the second phase of development.
As early as 2010, SHKP had submitted the concept design for the second phase of development, suggesting that the old Mawan village should be renovated into an art and cultural village, and some village houses should be converted into hotels.
The government also pointed out that the Town Planning Commission approved the Ma Wan Park master plan development plan in 2014, focusing on the conservation, restoration and renovation of the Ma Wan Old Village to revitalize it for reuse.
The second phase still has to be delayed until now before an agreement can be reached, and the project is expected to be completed in three years, which is already 20 years after the initial project agreement.
This may be partly due to the fact that "Noah's Ark" has been operating at a loss since its operation, and the land resumption of the old village of Ma Wan has been slow. In the end, Ma Wan Park has a second phase of development.
But at the same time, under the public-private partnership program, I am afraid that developers simply do not have enough motivation to promote such non-profit-making projects.
However, since Sun Hung Kai had already received about 840 million yuan in construction costs from the land premium when Sun Hung Kai was constructing Park Island, it is always necessary to fulfill its commitment to develop the second phase.
According to the development plan announced on Wednesday, the old village houses in Ma Wan will be refurbished into an art village, providing art studios, workshops, retail, and dining spaces.
Historical sites on Ma Wan such as the Tin Hau Temple, the Kowloon Pass monument and stele, and the stone carvings of "Mei Wei" will all be preserved.
According to the 1997 project agreement, the construction cost of Ma Wan Park (including the first and second phases) is funded by public funds, but the upper limit is 1.0314.8 billion yuan. The remaining unused balance is only 57.35 million yuan. The government pointed out The construction cost of the second phase exceeding the balance will be borne by Sun Hung Kai Properties.
After Sun Hung Kai Properties obtained government land premium concessions, almost used up the 1 billion subsidy from Ma Wan Park, and sold off the SHKP Park Island units, SHKP has lost substantial incentives for the development of Ma Wan Park.
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What should Ma Wan look like?
After granting the land to the developer, the government may not need to allocate funds for the development of Ma Wan Park, but the developer has had a poor track record at the time of its first phase. How much help the government grants to the development of SHKP will help the development of Ma Wan. worry.
As early as 2003, although Sun Hung Kai Properties negotiated with Disney to build a Disneyland in Ma Wan, until Disney and the Hong Kong government formally cooperated, the development direction of the first phase of Ma Wan Park in 2003 also became the current one. "Noah's Ark" project.
Its attractiveness can be described as quite limited. The number of visitors to Ma Wan Park has been 650,000 since the opening of the park. By the time the number of visitors had dropped to 407,000 in 2018/19, the average number of visitors per day was only about 1,100. As of this year, the number of visitors was affected by the epidemic. Perhaps even more hit.
Secondly, after Sun Hung Kai Properties obtained government land premium concessions, almost used up the one-billion dollar subsidy of Ma Wan Park, and the completion and sale of SHKP Park Island units, SHKP has lost substantial incentives for the development of Ma Wan Park.
Ma Wan Park is a community project that does not earn commercial profits. Whether the developer has the intention to revitalize and develop it has also aroused many people's questions.
Ironically, when the government granted the land, it stated that "it is hoped that the second phase of Ma Wan Park will be completed as soon as possible, and will help promote local and non-local tourism." But will this expectation lag behind and only get the hasty delivery of Sun Hung Kai Properties?
Whether the Ma Wan Art Village can finally be achieved, the government can only closely follow up the progress of the project.
The lesson of this matter should remind the government that in the future, to promote the development of Hong Kong's arts, conservation or tourism industry, it should no longer rely on public-private cooperation and blindly outsource responsibilities.
In the end, what kind of community planning should Hong Kong have, conservation and development should always be the responsibility of the government.
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