Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

History and development

The annual berth utilisation rate of Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, which offers two berths accommodating vessels of up to 50,000 tonnes (49,000 long tons), rose to 76% last year from 71% in 2003. Between 2001 and 2005, some 11 cruise vessels had to berth mid-stream and at container terminals because Ocean Terminal could not meet market demand.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Economic Development, Stephen Ip, said Hong Kong needs an additional berths between 2009 and 2015, and one to two more berths beyond 2015 to capture the growth of the regional cruise market.

The Government at first adopted a market-driven approach in the new development. Selected through an open tender exercise, the successful bidder would have owned the 76,000 square metres (19 acres) of land for a 50-year period and form the site as well as design, build and operate the terminal.

A pre-tender consultation with relevant trades was conducted in the first half of next year to expedite the pace of development, followed by invitation of tenders in the fourth quarter. The tender was to be awarded in the second quarter of 2008. The estimated development cost, excluding that for the commercial area, was about $2.4 billion HKD.

Tender

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government issued an open tender on 9 November 2007 for the development of the new cruise terminal. With its prominent location, the cruise terminal was expected to be iconic, projecting an image befitting the position of Hong Kong as "Asia's world city" and a major tourist destination.

The new cruise terminal is designed with about 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) for a baggage handling area, a passenger waiting/queuing area, a customs, immigration and health quarantine area and accommodation for other government departments; a maximum of 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft) in the cruise terminal building was set aside for such purposes as hotels, retail space, convention halls, offices, shops and eating places; and at least 22,000 square metres (240,000 sq ft) for a landscaped deck.

On 9 July 2008, the Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Frederick Ma announced that the Kai Tak cruise development project will be re-tendered as submissions received in the previous exercise did not conform with requirements. Ma said two submissions were received in the previous tendering exercise which closed in March. One submission called for hotel rooms to be individually sold off, while the other asked to develop more commercial area.

Subject to lawmakers' approval, the Government will re-tender the site by year's end, aiming to award the tender by the third quarter of 2009. The first berth of the new cruise terminal was expected to begin operation by the second quarter of 2013.

Construction

The Government wanted to seek lawmakers' approval to fund the site formation works and facilities required for the provision of government services in the fourth quarter of 2008. At that time, the estimated cost ranges from $1.8 billion to $2 billion.

The Civil Engineering & Development Department awarded a $407 million contract for stage-one infrastructure works at the former Kai Tak Airport on 2 September 2009. Works started on 4 September for completion in four years. The contract comprises the construction of a 1.8 km (1.1 mi)-long two-lane road, associated drainage, sewerage and water works, and a fireboat berth and public landing steps. The works will provide infrastructure to serve the early development of the southern part of the former runway area, which includes the first cruise terminal berth and a park. The works have been designed by AECOM Asia which will also supervise construction.

Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mak Chai-kwong, and the Managing Director of Dragages Hong Kong Limited, Nicolas Borit, signed a design and build contract for the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Building on 8 May 2010. The first berth was to be commissioned in mid-2013 and was to be capable of accommodating the world’s largest cruise vessels. The second berth was to commence operation in 2014 for berthing medium-sized cruise vessels. The second berth will be ready from early 2016.

Architectural design

The cruise terminal was designed by architects Foster + Partners. The terminal currently has the capacity to disembark a total of 8,400 (peak design load) or 5400 (base design load) passengers and 1,200 crew and its design also anticipates the demands of a new generation of larger cruise liners currently being designed. The interior, which spans 70 metres (230 ft), can be converted into a venue for performances, events and exhibitions, supported by the terminal’s restaurants and shops. This flexibility ensures that the building will be used all year round and can fully utilize down time. The sustainable design combines a number of energy-saving measures, and will generate power from renewable sources, as well as making use of recycled rain water for cooling.

The design, routing and functionality of the new terminal are based on the much smaller Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Partner in the Bouygues-led consortium which won the tender, is Amsterdam Port Consultants (APC) which consists of Haven Amsterdam, the government owner of the PTA terminal, and Ingenieursbureau Lievense, which was responsible for the design of PTA. The Dutch terminal, PTA, although smaller was chosen as a model for the new Hong Kong terminal on the basis of PTA's multifunctionality.

Operation and management

On 8 March 2012, the Worldwide Cruise Terminals Consortium was awarded the right to operate and manage the cruise terminal at Kai Tak. The consortium is required to pay the government a fixed rent of around HK$13 million for the 10-year operation. In addition, the government will receive a percentage of the operator's gross receipts as variable rent, with the percentage increasing from 7.3 percent to 34 percent as gross receipts rise. The grouping is made up of Worldwide Flight Services, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Neo Crown. Mariner of the Seas was the first cruise ship to dock at the new terminal on 12 June 2013.

Home port

Roughly 80% of the ship calls at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal have been turnaround or 'homeporting' calls. The first major homeport season was by Voyager of the Seas, which was based at Kai Tak from June to October 2015.

Lines

The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (“KTCT”) commenced operation in 2013 and has since welcomed cruise ships from a wide variety or cruise lines. Lines calling or scheduled to call at the KTCT include: