HONG KONG: The government has warned that Hong Kong risks a massive loss of economic benefits if lawmakers fail to pass a HK$5.45 billion funding application for a revamp of the Disneyland theme park.
In a desperate attempt to press for Finance Committee endorsement, commerce minister Greg So Kam-leung told lawmakers on Saturday that a risk test showed Hong Kong could lose up to HK$36 billion in economic benefits over 40 years if Disneyland’s visitor numbers shrank by 15 percent.
Lawmakers were unable to vote on the funding request at the end of a seven-hour debate, which included two failed motions seeking adjournment of the proceedings.
There were also several scuffles between pan-democratic lawmakers and committee chairman Chan Kin-por.
In one case, Chan had to adjourn the meeting briefly because Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung rushed to the chairman’s seat, protesting against his rejection of Eddie Chu Hoi-dick’s call for additional terms to be added to the funding application.
The Finance Committee will continue its discussions on the coming Friday.
Last month Walt Disney agreed to inject an extra HK$350 million for the revamp and waive part of its management fees for two years. But critics said the concessions were not significant enough to benefit the city.
Lawmakers also questioned if the theme park was financially viable given that it was still losing money despite good attendance figures, and why a third-party investor had never been introduced to the venture in the past decade.
The controversial HK$10.9 billion expansion project, due to open next year, will feature thematic zones based on the blockbuster Frozen and Marvel super- hero films, as well as the transformation of the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
