LCQ19: Upgrading facilities at Kowloon Park
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Question:
There are views that as one of Hong Kong's major urban parks, Kowloon Park is rich with historical heritage and well located. However, with the changes in time, some facilities in the park have become outdated and underutilised, and the overall development potential has yet to be fully realised. Regarding the upgrading of facilities at Kowloon Park, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the numbers of users and utilisation rates of various major facilities at Kowloon Park (such as the Swimming pool, Sports Centre, Children's Playground, Discovery Playground) in each of the past three years, as well as the results of satisfaction surveys, with a breakdown by type of facility;
(2) as there are views pointing out that Victoria Park, which is a major urban recreational space like Kowloon Park, has become a popular destination for members of the public and visitors due to its frequent hosting of diversified large-scale events, of the comparison of the utilisation of similar facilities between these two parks (such as swimming pool, sports centre/sports venue, children's playground) in the past three years; whether it has specifically analysed the main reasons for the differences in the utilisation rates of facilities at these two parks;
(3) of the regular mechanisms and specific measures put in place by the authorities to regularly inspect, maintain and revamp the facilities at Kowloon Park to ensure that such facilities meet the needs of the public and remain in good condition; whether it has formulated enhancement plans to raise Kowloon Park's attractiveness to locals and visitors (such as improving spatial planning and design in the park, organising more diversified events), thereby increasing the utilisation rates of facilities in the park;
(4) whether the authorities will consider adopting a public-private partnership model for the renovation works of Kowloon Park, allowing the private sector to participate in the design, operation and maintenance of specific areas in the park, so as to alleviate the Government's financial burden and accelerate the revamp of facilities; and
(5) given that the Government announced last year the conversion of Block 58 of the former Whitfield Barracks in Kowloon Park into a Chinese Culture Experience Centre, and the construction of an Annex Block at the nearby Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters, Tsim Sha Tsui to provide facilities including a Public Information and Education Concourse and an exhibition gallery, etc, how the Government integrates the above projects with the existing facilities and activities in Kowloon Park to create a unified space for recreational, cultural and tourism experience; whether it will establish an inter-departmental collaboration mechanism for the above projects and integration efforts to create synergy effects, thereby enhancing visitor flow and public participation in the area?
Reply:
President,
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is committed to offering diversified recreation, sports and leisure facilities in the parks under its management, with a view to meeting the public's needs for leisure and recreation activities, advocating healthy lifestyle, and promoting sports to the community. The 13-hectare Kowloon Park is one of the LCSD's major urban parks. It offers a full range of active and passive leisure facilities which are well received by members of the public.
My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Doreen Kong is as follows:
(1) Over the past three years, the usage rates or attendances of the major facilities in Kowloon Park are as follows:
| Average usage rate | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Sports Centre (Main Arena) | 98.3 per cent | 96.5 per cent | 98.2 per cent |
| Attendance | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Swimming Pool | 521 000 | 661 000 | 657 000 |
| Aviary | 136 000 | 168 000 | 185 000 |
| Bird Lake | 266 000 | 346 000 | 366 000 |
The LCSD does not keep relevant information on the attendances of the Children's Playground and the Discovery Playground.
According to a questionnaire survey conducted from July to August 2025, the vast majority (85 per cent) of the respondents were generally "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with Kowloon Park.
(2) Victoria Park and Kowloon Park are popular major parks featuring active and passive facilities. Similar facilities in both parks include swimming pools and children's playgrounds.
The LCSD does not keep information on the attendances of the children's playgrounds concerned. As for the swimming pools, the attendances of the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool and the Victoria Park Swimming Pool over the past three years are as follows:
| Attendance | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Kowloon Park Swimming Pool | 521 000 | 661 000 | 657 000 |
| Victoria Park Swimming Pool | 469 000 | 554 000 | 540 000 |
Members of the public choose to go swimming in nearby swimming pools based on their place of residence, place of work and daily schedules etc. As such, the attendance of a swimming pool is subject to a series of factors. Besides, some facilities of the Victoria Park and Kowloon Park are available for organisations to hire for staging events of various scales and types, offering diversified park experiences to visitors as well as providing various organisations with quality venues to hold events. Over the past three years, various organisations hired Kowloon Park for more than 110 times to host events such as carnivals, exhibitions, and competitions (e.g. the Hong Kong International Handball Championships, the Hong Kong Rowing Indoor Championships and Charity Rowathon, an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a Tai Chi day, and the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars phase four). Over the same period, Victoria Park was hired over 40 times for holding events, including multiple major events (e.g. Lunar New Year Fair, Hong Kong Flower Show, Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, and Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo).
(3) and (4) To continually enhance public service standards, the LCSD has all along been making plans for regular repair and large-scale improvement of various facilities of Kowloon Park taking into account the views of visitors and works departments with a view to enhancing the park visitors' experience, ensuring that the facilities are safe and comfortable, and providing visitors with an even more attractive leisure space.
In the improvement plan for 2024-25, in addition to carrying out routine repair and maintenance works at Kowloon Park, the LCSD has completed the refurbishment works of Chinese Garden and Children's Playground, as well as the enhancement works of fitness facilities and the Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars, bringing a better park experience for visitors. In addition, the LCSD installed specially designed and styled panda displays in the recently completed refurbishment project of the fountain at the Water Garden. Outdoor toilets were also enhanced with the introduction of Kung Fu design element for better visual appeal. As for the improvement plan for 2025-26, it will include projects on renovating toilets of the Discovery Playground as well as beautifying the Aviary and flower plots to further enhance the overall environment of the park, thereby providing visitors with more comfortable leisure space and richer natural landscape.
The LCSD will continue to review the usage of park facilities from time to time and, subject to the availability of resources and suitable venue conditions, formulate and carry out appropriate facility enhancement projects as necessary to continue adding unique features to Kowloon Park and enhancing its attractiveness.
In addition, regarding the public-private partnership, subject to its commercial viability and opportunities, the LCSD will keep an open mind, introduce innovative ideas and actively consider adopting public-private partnership proposals in order to enhance the service quality of facilities, thereby providing members of the public with leisure facilities of higher quality and richer visitor experience.
(5) The LCSD will convert Block 58 of the former Whitfield Barracks in Kowloon Park, with the construction of a new annex, into the Chinese Culture Experience Centre which is aiming at promoting Chinese culture. The Experience Centre will feature a versatile outdoor space harmonised with the natural environment of Kowloon Park, serving as a venue for hosting Chinese culture-related activities while offering citizens and tourists a space that combines cultural elements with natural scenery. The Experience Centre will make good use of technology to offer diversified interactive experiences and object-based learning activities to attract participation of both citizens and tourists.
Ends/Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:45
Issued at HKT 12:45
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