Troubled Ocean Park hotel now set for October launch while water attraction due to be completed by end of 2019

Completed procedures in obtaining government permits cited as reason for Marriott’s delayed debut

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The construction site of the Ocean Park Marriott Hotel in Wong Chuk Hang. Photo: Roy Issa

Published: 8:32am, 1 Aug 2018Updated: 7:13pm, 1 Aug 2018

A new hotel at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park is set to be launched in October, while a water park will be completed by the end of next year, according to the project chiefs.

Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of Lai Sun Development, which owns and develops Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott, said the HK$5 billion (US$641 million) hotel’s opening would happen in October due to requirements in obtaining various government permits.

“We have many tests to pass and the procedures are complicated,” he said.

The building works for the luxurious 471-room hotel were expected to conclude last year, but the debut was pushed back to June 13 this year. In May, the Post learned the hotel would not be ready to receive its first guest until the third quarter of this year.

Earlier this month, the parent company of the project’s main contractor, Hsin Chong Construction (Asia) Limited, came under scrutiny after it was found to be in financial trouble. Media reported that the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority had helped Hsin Chong – the main contractor of the hub’s M+ visual culture museum – pay its subcontractors. The authority said the payments had been deducted from the contract sum payable to the construction firm.