At the award ceremony for the Kai Tak Fantasy International Ideas Competition on Urban Planning and Design last Friday, we announced the winning entry and presented the awards. With the announcement of the outstanding design entitled “Kai Tak 2.0: Healthy Lift-off” as the winner, the competition has drawn to a successful conclusion, and the journey for Kai Tak Fantasy will officially embark on its next stage.

The Government rolled out the Kai Tak Fantasy project in 2013 to create a recreational landmark at the former runway tip of the former Kai Tak Airport. When we subsequently launched the Kai Tak Fantasy competition, the Kwun Tong Ferry Pier on the opposite side and the typhoon shelter in between were also included as part of the competition area. The goal was to combine the water body and the adjacent land with development potential on both sides and turn them into an area of more than 90 hectares featuring a 4,000-metre coastline, so that participants in the competition could stretch their imagination when designing an urban space that can cater for tourism, entertainment and leisure and achieve synergy at the same time.

Through the competition, we aimed to collect quality design ideas and engage the public in the design process. There were two rounds of adjudication in the competition. When we drew up the rules and details for the competition and before we shortlisted the four entries from all the submissions, we had conducted extensive public engagement to solicit public views. At the same time, the “A Place for You” Video Contest was held to allow the public, particularly young people, to express their views and expectations through various means regarding the future use of the public space in Kai Tak Fantasy.

Being part of the jury gave me in-depth insight into the competition. As its name suggests, the Ideas Competition focused on creativity. We therefore adopted less stringent rules to encourage flexibility in creation. As a result, many submissions went beyond the mere interaction between land and water body, thus provoking jurors' thoughts on the use of the water body at the typhoon shelter, as well as broadening our vision and imagination, which was invaluable in inspiring creativity. The brand-new or even ground-breaking ideas of some of the participants have defined this unique place in an innovative way that can meet public expectations.

I really look forward to Kai Tak Fantasy’s transformation into a place that Hong Kong people can be proud of, as well as one of the famous international landmarks. I understand that brand building takes time and requires the efforts of various parties. Organising an international competition itself is, in fact, the first step towards this direction. The 80 submissions we received from 9 countries have marked the beginning of the brand building of Kai Tak Fantasy.

The winning entry of the Ideas Competition promotes the concepts of greening and sustainable development, and successfully proposes a unique place with big ideas. It has translated the Healthy City concept in full by creating venues such as a new channel and a curvilinear shoreline, which perfectly integrate with sites for uses of health, culture, education and commerce within the area. It echoes people’s love for green and healthy urban spaces, as expressed in the entries of the “A Place for You” Video Contest and in the views collected during the public engagement.

It would indeed be challenging to implement the various ideas for Kai Tak Fantasy, particularly the ground-breaking ones, and we will study these in detail. I, together with colleagues of the Energizing Kowloon East Office and other relevant departments, will uphold the spirit of creation and be creative in the endeavour. Please support us in realising our vision of building Kai Tak Fantasy into a unique place of Hong Kong.