Hong Kong Development And Redevelopment

American firms are streaming to the Middle East in a frantic quest for up to $100 billion in construction contracts to repair war-torn Kuwait over the next five years, a rebuilding program touted as the most expensive in history. However, amid recent announcements by Taiwan, the Kuwaiti reconstruction effort may not even be the most expensive building program of the 1990s.

Exactly one year after Walt Disney Co. and Hong Kong's regional government reached their $3.5-billion deal to bring a Disneyland theme park to China's front door, a small but determined group of opponents is fighting a rear-guard action against the project.

China will have a voice on various long-range issues affecting Hong Kong even before the colony's 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty, but Britain will have the final say until that time, British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said here Saturday. "We intend to remain in full and effective control of decision-taking on the affairs of Hong Kong until 1997," Hurd said at a news conference. "We shall provide full information to China. That is reasonable and right.

A Hong Kong member of the mainland Chinese Congress has questioned the legality of the territory's deal to build a Disneyland theme park, a Hong Kong newspaper reported. Hong Kong's agreement with Walt Disney Co. involves a 50-year lease for the park site on outlying Lantau Island and includes an option to renew the lease for another 50 years.

Airport Project's Costs Soar: The estimated cost of the new airport and associated infrastructure projects has risen by 13.8% in less than a year, the government said. The estimate was $12.45 billion last July. It is now $14.49 billion. Hamish MacLeod, the colony's financial secretary, said the cost overrun will not be borne by taxpayers. The government's share remains at $7.66 billion. Private developers and lenders are responsible for the overruns.

Asia's developing countries will continue to be the economic stars among the world's economies this year, posting robust growth rates. But rising labor costs, slower export growth and other problems will generally reduce their rates of expansion compared to last year. That's among the many conclusions reached by the Asian Development Bank, a 49-member-nation institution based in Manila that provides funds and technical assistance to Asia Pacific nations.

Despite Hong Kong's uncertain future, Citicorp is financing one of the largest commercial projects in the British colony and also plans to open a new regional headquarters in the building. Dubbed Citicorp Plaza, the project's 35- and 50-story towers will overlook Hong Kong's central business district. Citicorp plans to spend at least $159 million to acquire the upper floors of the tallest structure, where it plans to consolidate employees from two other Hong Kong offices.

Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government announced a long-awaited deal today to build a theme park in this bustling financial hub, an agreement that would give Asia its second Magic Kingdom and grant Disney access to millions of Chinese customers. Negotiators went down to the wire Monday to hammer out a $2.9-billion deal that would make Disney and Hong Kong joint partners in developing a 311.

The Hong Kong government may lend Walt Disney Co. as much as $1 billion and take a majority stake in a new theme park the Burbank-based media and entertainment giant may build in the city, a source said. Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa hopes to announce the deal in his annual policy address Oct. 6, but it could face opposition from lawmakers because it would be the first such government investment in a private enterprise.

Dragon Air Flight 841 from Chongqing, China, was the final airplane to perform the famous white-knuckle landing here late Sunday night. Thousands of Hong Kong residents clustered on rooftops to watch the jet skim just overhead and touch down on a runway reclaimed from the sea. This morning, Hong Kong's new, $20-billion international airport replaced the 73-year-old, all-thrills, no-frills Kai Tak.

It's difficult enough to design a 1-million-square-foot shopping mall the size of Orange County's South Coast Plaza. But try building such a retail complex on top of a busy subway station. Then, just to complicate things further, add 20 or so skyscrapers on the mall roof.

Chinese, British Leaders Meet Amicably: Britain and China have resolved to make faster progress in their talks about Hong Kong's political development, Britain's Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said Friday after holding talks with Chinese leaders. In Beijing, he said his discussions with Qian Qichen, China's foreign minister, had been useful in clarifying how the two sides should proceed in future rounds of talks about elections due in Hong Kong in 1994 and 1995.

Hong Kong Airport Talks to Resume: China has agreed to resume high-level talks with Britain about Hong Kong's airport project, ending an eight-month hiatus in negotiations for the financing of one of Asia's most ambitious infrastructure developments. The government said the Airport Committee of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group will meet Friday, the fourth anniversary of the suppression of the Beijing democracy movement.

The Hong Kong government has delayed for a fourth time its decision on a reclamation contract that is a key part of the territory's controversial airport project. The contract, to reclaim 21 hectares of the Hong Kong harbor along the Central and Wanchai waterfront, was to have been awarded at the end of December. Disputes between Britain and China over political reform and financing for the airport have forced the government to delay choosing a contractor. The deadline was extended to Feb.