Ocean Park, Hong Kong, has delayed the opening of the new Marriott hotel until October. The planned water park will be completed by the end of next year.
“Red tape” has delayed the opening of the attractions, the South China Morning Post reports.
The Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel and Tai Shue Wan Water World have faced a number of delays since they were first announced. In March, the Hong Kong government announced their intention to make a cash injection into the park.
Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of Lai Sun Development, told SCMP: “We have many tests to pass and the procedures are complicated.”
Tai Shue Wan Water World was expected to open in late 2018. Gammon Construction was selected to construct the project last June.
The 6,400sqm facility will feature a unique design integrated with its hillside surroundings. A series of terraced platforms will face out onto the South China Sea from Ocean Park’s Aberdeen Harbour location. The park will feature a total of 27 indoor and outdoor water attractions. It is expected to attract 1.5 million visitors in its first year of operation.
The Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel was scheduled to be opened in June. It is being built at a cost of $639m. The hotel will feature 471 rooms and a 16m high aquarium in the lobby. It will also contain lagoons, a ballroom and a rooftop garden.
It is hoped the two developments will help the park, as it faces “rising competition” from Hong Kong Disneyland, reports SCMP. Allan Zeman, who played a vital role in revitalising Ocean Park, told Blooloop in July that he believed Ocean Park played a unique role that Disney could not fulfil. “Disney was an American import,” he said, “Ocean Park was local. Disney is the best in the world at fantasy. Ocean Park was about the ocean, the environment, the things that are important in today’s world.”
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2157693/troubled-ocean-park-hotel-now-set-october-launch
