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Jason Krupp

Tsuen Wan is a neighbourhood in flux with the bustling market town, perched on the western edge of  Kowloon, undergoing a rapid transformation into a cosmopolitan centre.
Nothing signifies this change more than  the Nina Tower.
The property consists of two towers - one 90-storeys high and the other 42 - presenting imposing edifices of steel and glass that rise above Tsuen Wan and  light up the night thanks to an embedded LED lighting display on the  facade.
The top 40 floors of Tower One house an 800-room, five-star hotel, while the 10th to the 39th floors consist of grade A office space.
The smaller Tower Two is also mainly dedicated to hotel space, with the shared pedestal and lower floors of the main tower being used as a conference centre, a shopping centre and a restaurant complex.
It is this glaring contrast that has led many observers to point out that  Nina Tower  might be more at  home among Hong Kong's upscale skyscrapers, in Central,  than  out-of-the-way Tsuen Wan.
But Connie Chan, district manager of the customer services department at Sources Fame Management, a member of the Chinachem Group which owns Nina Tower,  said the area was anything but a backwater.
'Tsuen Wan is geographically situated at the centre of Hong Kong and enjoys access to the convenient transportation network, with quick access to Hong Kong International Airport, Kwai Chung Container Terminal, Hong Kong Disneyland and other tourist spots on Lantau Island,' Ms Chan said.
'The local road network also links with the future Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau [bridge]  which undoubtedly enhances the accessibility to the mainland, and will certainly boost the importance of the area.'
Ms Chan said the tower had been a catalyst for transformation in the area, rather than a white elephant.
'Many other projects surrounding Nina Plaza have sprung up in recent years, by developers such as the MTR [Corporation]  and the Urban Renewal Authority, that are already starting to turn Tsuen Wan into a mini-urban metropolis,' Ms Chan said.
She said this could be seen with the MTR Tsuen Wan West Station, Nina Tower, the two phases of Vision City - a joint development by Sino Group and the Urban Renewal Authority, Yeung Uk Road Sports Ground, and Chelsea Court. These are all due to be linked by a Skywalk.
'Plus with the existing Tsuen Wan Plaza, the area will become a big shopping mall district, further boosting Tsuen Wan's development.'
However, while Ms Chan is quick to sing the praises of Nina Tower and Tsuen Wan, she also acknowledges that the process of developing this project was a difficult one, which lasted almost 20 years.
The project was conceived in 1987 by the late Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum,  then chairman of Chinachem Group, whose vision was to build the tallest building in the world.
Her decision was supported by the success of the Central Plaza, then Asia's tallest building,  in Wan Chai.
'[Nina Wang] saw that Central Plaza wasn't really in Central, but in the then rather quiet Wan Chai  area, but the take-up rate was pretty good,' Ms Chan said. 'So she wanted to build an even taller building in Tsuen Wan. Being 'the world's tallest tower' would get a lot of attention and make it a Hong Kong landmark.'
In 1991, the government rejected the project proposal, citing that the height of the building would affect the communication systems of the new airport on Lantau Island.
A legal spat between the government and the developer ensued over the planned height of the building, and Chinachem was ordered to pay a HK$550million regrant premium by the Lands Department.
Finally, in 1997, Chinachem compromised and split the Nina Tower in two, and construction was completed in February 1992. The large tower was named the Teddy Tower (after Ms Wang's late husband) and the smaller one called the Nina Tower. They are now referred to as Tower One and Tower Two.
Nina Tower was granted its Issuance of Occupation Permit in August 2006, and actual operation of the hotel and office units  early last year.
While the project may have failed to achieve its stated goal of becoming the world's tallest building, it is a  landmark, and Chinachem Group is cashing in on this.
This was evidenced by its occupancy rates, Ms Chan said. L'hotel Nina et Convention Centre, with its 1,589 rooms, is  at capacity, with 70per cent of the office units occupied and the shopping mall about to commence with large-scale leasing.
'Nina Tower has become Tsuen Wan's centerpiece for locals and tourists alike with its cultural activities, shopping, commercial,  entertainment and leisure facilities,' Ms Chan said.
'I am confident that we will see the two grow successfully in future.'



Nina Tower  a symbol of change in mini-metropolis