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Work on Hong Kong's Kai Tak Sports Park has commenced with a groundbreaking ceremony held on the site on Tuesday - signalling the commencement of the construction of the Special Administrative Region's largest ever sports infrastructure project.

Set to open in 2023, the much anticipated HK$30 billion (US$3.82 billion) development on the site of Hong Kong’s former Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon will be the city’s largest multi-purpose sports venue.

The 28-hectare site is being developed into sport-based sports venues with retail, wellness, recreational and community facilities that will include a 10,000 seat indoor sports centre, an athletics stadium and, at its heart, a 50,000-capacity main stadium with a retractable roof.

The Hong Kong Government has imposed stringent performance indicators for the Kai Tak Sports Park with a fine of HK$500,000 (US$64,000) for every day the operator fails to meet usage requirements in the main stadium.

In a Legislative Council paper to the Hong Kong Government’s Home Affairs Panel, venue operator, Kai Tak Sports Park Limited (KTSPL), which won the contract last December, will be required to host sports events in the main stadium for a minimum 40 days a year in the first five years of operation, 76 days in the indoor centre and 69 days in the public ground.

Failure to meet the targets will result in a fine of HK$500,000 for every day below the minimum level for the main stadium, HK$100,000 (US$12,750) for the indoor centre and HK$50,000 (US$6,400) for the public ground.

The total attendance of all these venues will also be counted, with a target of 600,000 attendees per annum in the first five years. Failure to reach that target will incur a payment of HK$25 per attendee.

The operator is also required to keep the facilities in working condition. If any booking is unreasonably rejected or cancelled as a result of the turf surface in the main stadium or the public ground, the operator will have to pay the government HK$500,000 and HK$50,000 per incident respectively.

If any sports facilities are unavailable for public use, the payment amount will be equivalent to the venue hiring charge at the highest hourly rate for community casual hire.

All these performance indicators will be adjusted after the first five years of operation followed by a mid-term review after 10 years.

KTSPL is also obliged to pay liquidated damages of HK$4.3 million (US$548,100) per day if there is any delay in completion of works. The time for operational acceptance is 1,640 days (54 months) from the commencement of the contract (1^st February 2019), meaning the park should be finished by June 2023.

To ensure that design and construction works are carried out efficiently and of the required quality, the government is engaging a dedicated team of resident site staff through its technical services consultant to monitor and carry out daily inspection of the works.

Global architecture and design firm Populous, a member of the KTSPL consortium, is confident it will deliver a “park for all” while setting a new world benchmark.

Speaking on Tuesday, Paul Henry, Populous’ Senior Principal and Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, stated “there is nothing like this anywhere in the world, it’s unique.

“It’s an extraordinary site in one of the best positions you could ever hope for in any city in the world (and) we have created a new benchmark in the world for sports, entertainment and community facilities that are connected in an urban oasis.”

“There is nothing like this in the range of facilities, from leisure, sport, retail, wellness, community.

“What excites us is that we have gathered all the components and the best of Hong Kong into one design.

“We have created something different, rather than a single use venue of which there are so many in the world (and) we believe this will be one of the most used facilities in the world in how it integrates with the surrounding area as well as the range of facilities.”

Images: The groundkearing ceremony for the Kai Tak Sports Park with Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor HKSAR, Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah and Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong in attendance (top), Populous' design for the main stadium (middle) and the precinct plan (below). All images courtesy of KTSPL.

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