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Hong Kong property
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Developers at Kai Tak runway site urge government to improve transport links as sale of new projects looms

  • Nine developers who own land on the former runway site last month formed a non-profit company to lobby the government on transport
  • Launch prices have been pressured after the government dropped its plan to build a monorail link at the site in 2020

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Miami Quay development project, jointly developed by Wheelock Properties, Henderson Land, New World Development and Empire Group at Kai Tak. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Sandy Li

Developers will face challenges in marketing new flats built on the runway site of Hong Kong’s former international airport as the area’s transport links and infrastructure remain limited, two years after the government scrapped a proposed HK$12 billion (US$1.53 billion) monorail link there, analysts say.

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Nine developers who own land on the former runway site last month formed a non-profit company, Kai Tak Runway Private Development Company (KTRPD), to liaise with the government on improving the area’s accessibility. New projects are either slated for presale soon or are due for delivery as early as next year, so the matter is pressing.

“Today, the general impression is it’s inconvenient, with lots of people still unfamiliar with the new transport facilities there,” said Ricky Wong, managing director of Wheelock Properties, which is involved in a consortium that will kick off a sale at Miami Quay at the site soon.

The Miami Quay development will be the second residential project to be put on sale at the former runway. One Victoria development was launched in June 2021 and is scheduled for delivery as early as March 2023.

The non-profit company consists of Chinachem Group, China Overseas Land & Investment, Empire Group Holdings, Far East Consortium International, Henderson Land Development, K Wah International, New World Development, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Wheelock Properties.

Government has replaced the monorail link proposal with a mix of traditional transport modes such as buses, water taxis, travelators and walkways on the runway.
Government has replaced the monorail link proposal with a mix of traditional transport modes such as buses, water taxis, travelators and walkways on the runway.

The government sold 11 residential plots for a total HK$115.4 billion on the runway at the old airport site, before dropping the idea of building a monorail link in December 2020. The abandoned monorail plan involved linking Kowloon Bay station with the massive Kai Tak Development area, continuing on to Kwun Tong.

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