Gold Coast Cableway: How Hong Kong’s Ngong Ping 360 avoided environmental impact
The operators behind one of the world’s most popular cableways, which has more than 5,000 visitors a day, has shared a few tips for the proposed Gold Coast attraction.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The operator of one of the world’s most popular cableways, attracting 5000 daily visitors, has opened up on addressing environmental fears as the Gold Coast grapples with its own proposal.
The now much-loved and much-visited Hong Kong cableway rejected using trucks to help build it and instead flew in materials via helicopter and on the back of mules.
In December, Gold Coast City planning committee chair Mark Hammel was backed by councillors,10-5 to continue investigating a cableway at Springbrook.
Gold Coast City Council was warned it had to make a decision between two proposals - and not proceed with two - which include the cableway running from Mudgeeraba to Springbrook and another from west of Coomera to a secluded ridge line.
The Hong Kong cableway attracts glowing reviews along with its thousands of daily visitors but Gold Coast residents were concerned how a local attraction would impact the city’s hinterland.
It comes less than four months after Skyline Queenstown in New Zealand’s tourism capital were charged in relation to activities that allegedly contributed to a landslide that occurred in 2023.
The landslide sparked a state of emergency as trees, mud and floodwaters swamped parts of central Queenstown.
The Ngong Ping 360 spokesperson said they also had concerns about the environmental impact in the years leading up to the opening of the Hong Kong cableway in 2006.
To minimise impact, instead of using trucks, they flew in helicopters and bought six mules from Canada to transport the materials to the work sites.
Almost 20 years later the $1.4 billion HKD (equivalent to $291 million AUD) attraction sees more than 5000 guests a day.
“Approximately 50 per cent of the guests are overseas tourists, with the largest group coming from Southeast Asian countries,” the spokesperson said.
The Ngong Ping 360 spokesperson said the cableway was a gateway to their other attractions such as the North Lantau Country Park, the Big Buddha and more “breathtaking sights”.
Mayor Tom Tate said he hoped Gold Coasters visited the overseas version, with Hong Kong Airlines reinstating their direct Gold Coast-Hong Kong route for the five-week Chinese Lunar New Year period.
“I know the Hong Kong cableway is very popular, so when we have ours up and running maybe a trip on the cableway can be included in the airline ticket,” Mr Tate said.
Sign we need to get a grip of e-bike problem
OPINION: New signage painted on crowded Gold Coast footpaths has sparked controversy among residents fed up dicing with dangers caused by e-bikes. Here’s what we need to do, writes Ann Wason Moore.
NY-style sandwich, biscoff caramel iced latte: New shop a social hit
A unique convenience store that recently opened on the northern Gold Coast has become TikTok famous for its New York-style sandwiches and iced lattes.