Consortium plans to give the former trade and exhibition centre a new lease of life following its permanent closure in June.
The owner of Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Kitec) has proposed to turn the site into a commercial and residential project, making a fresh attempt to adapt its redevelopment plans to Hong Kong’s struggling property market.
International Trademart, which paid HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) for the property in 2021, has proposed a new mixed-use project comprising one office tower and four towers offering 1,494 flats and 720 hotel rooms, according to a February 19 redevelopment plan submitted to the Town Planning Board.
The new plan superseded its previous proposal, approved by authorities in March 2023, to build three commercial buildings with 1.77 million sq ft of floor space. The owner was also said to have considered but cancelled a plan to build six residential buildings, one commercial tower and other retail and social welfare facilities, according to media reports in May last year.
International Trademart, whose investors include Billion Development & Project Management and CSI Properties, bought the property from Hopewell Holdings. Its 3,600-capacity Star Hall venue once hosted concerts by Cantopop boy band Mirror, while other facilities included exhibition space and a 900,000 sq ft E-Max shopping and entertainment hall.
Kitec was closed down in June last year “due to changes in the market and urban redevelopment plans”, according to its website, as Hong Kong’s commercial property market took a turn for the worse following a short-lived post-pandemic rebound. Office rents were projected to fall this year to levels last seen in 2012, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Some 3 million sq ft of new premium office space is expected to enter the market in the coming months, the biggest net increase in supply in 17 years, according to market consultants, including 2.6 million sq ft from Sun Hung Kai Properties’ International Gateway Centre in West Kowloon.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said that the Kitec owner had committed to reserving about 120,000 sq ft for exhibitions as part of the redevelopment project.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, in his policy address last year, highlighted plans to enhance cultural confidence and the tourism industry by attracting mega-events to Hong Kong, which were also expected to boost the city’s retail and hotel industries.
Some 93 mega-events have been planned for the first half of this year, which have a potential to attract 840,000 tourists, the government said in November.
