An extra MTR exit costing HK$100 million will be built in Wan Chai's Lee Tung Street to provide access to Wedding City arcade, Urban Renewal Authority chief executive Quinn Law Yee-kwan said.
Law told The Standard the authority and the MTR Corp have discussed building a tunnel near the Southorn Playground area in Johnston Road for a new exit at Lee Tung Street, also known as Wedding Card Street. It will take three to four years to build.
Since the tunnel will be short, no shops are planned. The exact location of the exit is still unknown but it will be near Lee Tung Street. Law does not foresee any technical problems in building the tunnel and exit.
The authority will revitalize the Lee Tung Street-McGregor Street area, envisaging about 100,000 square feet for commercial use and 40,000 sq ft for the wedding arcade, as well as about 100 parking spaces. Law said pedestrians from Queen's Road East will pass through Wedding Card Street for the shortest route to the MTR. The project will invite bidders in the first quarter of next year. It is believed Hopewell, which has its headquarters on Queen's Road East, and Swire, which has offices at Pacific Place in Admiralty, may be interested in the project that is expected to be completed in 2011.
The authority has completed some projects in the area, such as the Pawn Shop and JResidence, which now carries a price tag of about HK$7,000 per sq ft.Meanwhile, Law insisted the landmark building at the Kwun Tong Town Centr
e Project will still be 280 meters high, even though the Town Planning Board has said the commercial-hotel building is too high.
Law said the building is not that high when compared to International Financial Centre 2, which stands at 300m, and International Commerce Centre at 400m.Air flow, Law added, is not an issue because it will not be built along the coastal area. As it is a landmark building, it has to be high enough to be seen even from Hong Kong Island, Law said.
He said most Kwun Tong District Council members supported the proposed height, with some even asking that it be made higher.He added the Kwun Tong Town Centre Project, the authority's largest undertaking, will be developed in four phases over 12 years.
Law said the project, estimated to cost HK$30 billion, covers 570,000 sqft, affecting about 1,656 property interests and 5,000 people. The authority, Law added, has a net asset value of HK$14.4 billion with HK$10 billion in cash.
"We are financially sound but we may need to spend HK$30 billion in the coming five years and may need to borrow from the banks," he said.But the authority will not issue bonds under the current low interest rate environment. The government in 2002 injected HK$10 billion into the authority.