Waterfront site ‘saw max use to create park’

The Tsui Ping harborfront project has implemented the “single site, multiple use” model to create an unexpected leisure space for east Kowloon residents and also all Hong Kong residents, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho wrote in her blog yesterday.

The Cha Kwo Ling promenade at Wai Yip Street and the adjacent Tsui Ping Seaside officially opened last month, connecting the waterfront of Cha Kwo Ling with Kwun Tong.

Harbourfront Commission chairman Vincent Ng Wing-shun said at the launching ceremony that the completion of the Cha Kwo Ling promenade would provide not only beautiful scenery for Kowloon residents but also an additional valuable public space.

Director of Drainage Services Alice Pang said the department has always hoped to build a more livable community, including incorporating the concept of a “riverside city” into river revitalization projects and integrating public open spaces through the enhancement of drainage facilities, in the hope of changing the public’s preconceived notion of drainage facilities.

In addition, the department has also further enhanced the connection between the waterfront and the community.

For example, three projects – Upgrading of Kwun Tong Preliminary Treatment Works, Revitalization of Tsui Ping River, and Enhancement Works for Kwun Tong Sewage Pumping Station – are being conducted near the Tsui Ping Seaside.

Department engineer Mui Chi-kin said the roof level of the pumping station had been developed into a 1.1-hectare landscaped deck, which joins up with the adjacent waterfront space to form the 1.8-hectare Cha Kwo Ling Promenade.

The department also completed the restoration of a 130-meter-long and 0.7-hectare harborfront seven years ahead of schedule to enable the public to conveniently access the waterfront area from the landscaped deck.

Linn also said several harborfront projects would be implemented progressively by year-end, including the water sports and recreation precinct phase 4 in Wan Chai, the public space of another drainage facility at Cherry Street in Tai Kok Tsui, and a number of public open spaces in private developments at the Kai Tak runway of the former airport.

“The open spaces will extend the total length of the waterfront promenade on both sides of the Victoria Harbour to about 27 kilometers, with a target of extending it to 34 kilometers by 2028,” she said.