【明報專訊】A DECISION has finally been made on the development of the Kai Tak community isolation facility. The government has proposed to convert it into a "Youth Post" hostel and a space for youth cultural and artistic exchange. It will invite tenders from private organisations to operate, though details are currently scarce.

In early 2022, the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. With the support of the central government, Hong Kong built a number of community isolation facilities, including the one in Kai Tak. Early last year, Hong Kong finally left the pandemic behind and returned to normal. Most facilities have gradually converted to other uses, such as foreign workers' dormitories and venues for construction industry training. Some have returned to their original planned uses. The future of the community centre in Kai Tak, however, remained undecided for a long time.

As many young working people are eager to have their own space, the authorities have stepped up youth hostel projects in recent years. They have, for example, encouraged some hotels to transform into youth hostels. The incumbent administration's goal is to provide 3,000 hostel places during its term.

The lease of a youth hostel unit is at least two years long, and the total lease period cannot exceed five years. Due to the "relatively" cheap rent, these units are sought after every time they are launched, and the overall occupancy rate is high. However, it is common knowledge that transport is inconvenient at the tip of the Kai Tak runway area. It should be of concern whether young workers will find the daily commute between home and work too time-consuming to consider a youth hostel in Kai Tak.

Furthermore, it is still unknown how many units at the Kai Tak community isolation facility will be converted into youth hostel units and how much space will become the art and cultural exchange area. Nor is it clear whether the two of them will exist and operate independently or whether there will be some kind of connection, so much so that applications for a unit are more likely to be successful if the applicant claims to be engaged in cultural and artistic fields.

Kai Tak Cruise Terminal is often described as a "deserted place". The government has repeatedly promised to improve it, but problems such as inconvenient transport, lack of footfall and insufficient shops persist. Now the government has proposed to convert the adjacent Kai Tak cabin into a youth hostel and an art and cultural exchange space. Many people are concerned about ancillary transport facilities. No doubt it is incumbent on the government to improve it as soon as possible. A more urgent issue, however, is what the whole project is about. If the objective of a measure lacks clarity, the risk of things going awry when it is being implemented will inevitably increase.

The authorities have never said their vision is to turn the Kai Tak isolation facility into a cultural and creative tourism attraction. In the Policy Address, the idea is put simply under the chapter "Strengthen Support for Youth Development". The authorities must indicate the direction and clarify whether this will be a transitional arrangement for the next couple of years or a long-term development plan. If it is not a permanent project, they should enunciate the time limit during the tender process to ensure that issues like "hard to have them quit" or "objection to relocation or demolition" will not arise when the place is changed to another use in the future. If the authorities do not have a clear blueprint, it would be better to go back to the original idea of restoring it to a public park as a way to develop a leisure space for tourists.

明報社評 2024.10.31：啟德方艙變青年旅舍 目標方向須及早釐清

啟德「方艙」社區隔離設施終有發展定案，政府提出將之改為「青年驛站」旅舍，以及青年文化藝術交流空間，日後將招標找私人團體營運，惟暫時未見太多細節。

2022年初，第五波新冠疫情大爆發，香港在中央支援下，建設多個社區隔離設施，啟德方艙正是其中之一。去年初香港告別疫情復常，大部分社區隔離設施陸續改作其他用途，例如外勞宿舍、建造業培訓等，又或還原本來規劃用途，可是啟德方艙卻遲遲未有着落。

針對不少在職青年渴望擁有自己的空間，當局近年加強推動青年宿舍計劃，包括鼓勵一些酒店旅館轉型為青年宿舍，現屆政府目標是任期內提供3000個宿位。

青年宿舍租約為期至少兩年，總租期不得多於5年，由於租金「相對」便宜，每次推出都相當搶手，整體入住率甚高，可是啟德跑道區末端交通不便，乃是人所共知，在職青年會否嫌上下班「不就腳」而不感興趣，實有關注必要。

另外，啟德方艙有多少單位會改為「青年驛站」、有多少地方改為「文藝交流空間」；兩者是獨立存在獨立運作，還是有某種扣連，諸如申請人報稱從事文化藝術，入住機會也較高等，暫時也不清楚。

啟德郵輪碼頭常被形容如「死城」，政府一再承諾改善，交通不便、人流稀疏、商舖零落情况卻依舊。現在政府提出將毗鄰的啟德方艙改為「青年驛站」及文藝交流空間，不少人都關注交通配套問題，對此政府當然責無旁貸，必須盡快改善，然而整項計劃所為何事，也許才是更加急須釐清的問題。當措施目標不清晰，落實執行荒腔走板的風險必然也會上升。

當局從沒說過「啟德方艙化為文創旅遊景點」是其願景，《施政報告》只是將之歸入「加強支援青年發展」章節。當局必須清晰指明方向，說清楚這是為時數載的過渡安排，還是長遠發展大計。如果不是永久的項目，就應該在招標時說清楚時限，確保日後改作其他用途時，不會出現「易請難送」、「不遷不拆」一類問題。倘若當局沒有清晰規劃藍圖，倒不如回到初衷，將之還原為公眾公園，發展旅遊休憩空間。

■ Glossary 生字 /

leave behind : to leave a person, place or state permanently

deserted : (of a place) with no people in it

incumbent on sb (to do sth) : necessary as part of sb's duties