(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government will seek the Legislative Council's approval for a $5.4 billion funding plan to support the operation of Ocean Park for 12 months and repay its commercial loans to avoid possible liquidation.

Announcing the plan today, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said the park is facing severe operational and financial challenges due to the COVID-19 epidemic and without new funding support the park could become insolvent by June.

“This is a plan to save Ocean Park from going bust, from being liquidated and save the park so that it can continue to serve the Hong Kong community.”

Mr Yau added this was a revised plan and different from the original one the Government had put forward on January 20.

“That was a plan to redevelop Ocean Park into the next stage. But one thing has changed the whole scenario - which is the epidemic. Because soon after we submitted the plan to the (Legislative Council) Finance Committee in late February, within a week, Hong Kong was hard hit by COVID-19 and the park has since closed for more than three-and-a-half months.”

He noted that even if the park reopens in the not-too-distant future, the whole tourism landscape - both locally, across the boundary and also globally - will be undergoing major changes, adding that the revised plan will serve two purposes.

“One is to avoid the situation in which the park goes into a form of liquidation, so that is why we need to help them to repay the commercial loans and to delay repayment for the government loan.

“On the other hand, we need to give them contingency money, so that they can keep the park running while we are sorting out the future. So there will be, at a later stage, another plan to take the park forward. But I think (due to the) circumstances, a major rethink is required.”