SECRETARY for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government Edward Yau announced Monday that Hong Kong’s Ocean Park will be transformed into a resort with educational and conservation functions.

Yau told a press conference that after revamping, the park will be composed of two areas to be linked by its iconic cable car. One of them will allow free access to visitors to enjoy retail, catering and leisure facilities, while the other area on the hill will feature new attractions where fees will be applied.

Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation Lau Ming-wai said the current practice of a single admission fee for the entire park will be replaced by a nominal admission fee and the park will only charge visitors for rides and exhibitions.

Lau said the water park run by Ocean Park will open in the summer of 2021 and they are confident that the revamped park will play a key role in the development of Hong Kong’s Southern District.

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ocean Park only opened for 129 days in 2020. In early May 2020, the park announced that it was running out of cash flow and was on the brink of closing down. The Legislative Council of the HKSAR passed a proposal before June 2020, agreeing that the HKSAR Government would allocate more than HK$5.4 billion (US$696.47 million) to the Ocean Park.

(Xinhua)