CUHK and New World Development Company Limited Jointly Organize the Topping-Out Ceremony for the Teaching Hotel
A topping-out ceremony was held today for The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)'s teaching hotel which is developed by New World Development Company Limited (NWD) on the campus of CUHK. The hotel, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, comprises a hotel and teaching facilities. The hotel is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. Upon completion, it will provide hospitality and catering services for hotel guests as well as training for students of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of CUHK.
Located in Ma Liu Shui of the New Territories, the teaching hotel is right next to the KCR University Station and is easily accessible by other modes of public transport. Commanding magnificent views of the Tolo Harbour, the 50,000-square-metre hotel features 567 rooms, a spa, a 25-metre outdoor swimming pool, a gymnasium, a tennis court, function rooms, business centres and restaurants. These facilities will also be used by the School for training and practicum purposes. The teaching facilities include a 10,000-square-metre complex for offices, classrooms, breakout rooms, laboratories, an experimental restaurant and a gallery. They are comparable to those at the world-renowned Cornell Hotel School, a partner of the CUHK SHTM.
This teaching hotel, which boasts wide-ranging and advanced facilities, will facilitate the teaching and research of the SHTM by providing it with a base for longitudinal observation and studies. It will serve as a teaching centre for the School to hold teaching and training programmes and will also provide a wide spectrum of services, including consultancy services, to hotel industry practitioners in Hong Kong, mainland China and other Asian cities.
Officiating at the ceremony were Dr. Cheng Kar-shun, Henry, Managing Director of NWD; Dr. Edgar Cheng, Council Chairman of CUHK; Prof. Lawrence J. Lau, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK; Dr. David W. K. Sin, Executive Director of NWD; Mr. Stewart C. K. Leung, Executive Director and Group General Manager of NWD; and Prof. Liu Pak-wai, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK.
At the topping-out ceremony, Dr. Cheng Kar-shun, Henry, Managing Director of NWD, expressed his pleasure in teaming up with CUHK to launch this joint project. He pointed out that the global economic boom and thrive of tourism had entailed an increasing demand for managerial talent in hospitality industries. This project would not only enhance the quality of the hospitality and tourism workforce by providing professional training and internship opportunities for the industry in Hong Kong and the neighbouring regions; but also give Hong Kong a new and distinctive international hotel.
In his address, Prof. Lawrence J. Lau, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, thanked NWD for their unreserved and unfailing support of the University's efforts at developing quality courses on hotel management. Prof. Lau said that all premier hotel schools had their own teaching hotels. He believed that the completion of the teaching hotel would give the SHTM a leg up in its bid to become a world-class hotel school. It would also play a pivotal role in grooming talent for the industry and facilitating relevant studies at the University.