Underprivileged area aims to emulate success of Seoul's famed Dongdaemun

The Sham Shui Po District Council has approved a proposal to revive its fabric and garment market and turn it into Hong Kong's fashion district.

The plan is set to boost the economy in the underprivileged district and upgrade Hong Kong's fashion and garment industry.

The proposed design covers the area between Nam Cheong Street, Boundary Street, Lai Chi Kok Road and Fuk Wah Street, in which 300 to 400 garment shops are doing business.

The district council also advised the government to plan more Wi-Fi spots in the area and put up special road signs to inform tourists. Meanwhile food trucks can also be imported into the area to cater to more tourists, according to the proposal.

District Councilor Wai Hoi-ying hoped such a revamp project could lift the local economy and provide more job opportunities to residents in the district.

She said the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau had a responsibility to give the area a push. The project could make full use of the district's special features and benefit local residents as well as the tourism industry.

She advised the government to provide shop information to visitors through its Wi-Fi services. She also suggested festive events like the current annual Sham Shui Po Computer Fair.

District Councilor Frederick Fung Kin-kee hoped the government would incorporate plans for some galleries and places for fashion shows.

Legislator representing the textiles and garments industry Felix Chung Kwok-pan, one of the major initiators of the plan, hoped the project could turn Sham Shui Po into Hong Kong's own Dongdaemun. This is one of the most trendy fashion districts in East Asia - which was once just a wholesale market in Seoul, South Korea.

The city's garment industry would also get a boost in the process by providing opportunities to local designers. This should help to make Hong Kong one of the world's fashion hubs, Chung said.

Hong Kong's economy would further benefit from this idea, Chung said. Currently the textiles and garments business accounted for 6.4 percent of total exports in 2014, amounting to HK$216 billion, according to the city's Trade and Industry Department.

Local garment shop owners welcomed the proposal. Queenie Lam, who has been selling lace fabric in Sham Shui Po for more than 10 years, said the industry was having a hard time as shops were now separated in different districts so that less people visit her shop to buy lace.

She hoped the plan would bring more visitors to the area.

Kim Chan, owner of a button shop, said development of the fabric market might attract more customers and restore his sales. He has lost business to Bangladesh and the mainland.

However, Chan believed food trucks were not hygienic and not necessary in Sham Shui Po because the area is already full of restaurants.

Sham Shui Po has been the city's biggest fabric and garment wholesale market since the 1970s.

In his 2015-16 Budget, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah pledged to launch a HK$500 million, three-year pilot program for Hong Kong's fashion industry.

Andrea Poon contributed to the story.

luisliu@chinadailyhk.com

A shopper browses fabric stores in Ki Lung Street in Sham Shui Po on Tuesday. Sham Shui Po District Council has approved a plan to develop a fabric market that emulates South Korea's world-famous fashion hub Dongdaemun Market. Roy Liu / China Daily

(HK Edition 08/26/2015 page8)