So Long, KITEC

KITEC is a large complex with offices, concert space, banquets

When I think of Kowloon Bay, it reminds of me of the first two jobs I had that had offices there, and later on the headquarters for the MTR. It is also where there is a giant complex called KITEC, which stands for Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre.

It's about a 15-minute walk from the MTR station, or if you can catch it, a five-minute free shuttle bus ride. It's where students used to take classes at a college there, and for Chinese New Year, large companies would hold their banquets there for staff, since they could hold about 1,000 people.

Many companies held their CNY banquets here

And for indie music fans, KITEC was the medium-sized venue where they heard bands such as Rubberband, Miyavi, Laufey, Tom Odell and Dean Fujioka to name a few. 

It was also the venue for other events -- Funassyi fanatics saw the pear fairy there in 2018, and nine years earlier Hello Kitty fans got to see their favourite feline in a special exhibition there marking her 35th anniversary.

It was recently announced KITEC will close permanently at the end of June, after it was bought for HK$10 billion by a consortium led by Billion Development and Project Management in 2021.

Last March, the Hong Kong government approved the reconstruction of the site into three commercial buildings that includes an industrial exhibition space, and commercial and engineering facilities.

The mid-sized concert venue will be sorely missed

Built in 1995, KITEC was originally owned by Hopewell Holdings and has 1.76 million sq ft in space. 

There goes a multi-use building that attracted a diverse group of people!