The ICC’s Missing 90 Metres

Ever since its completion in 2010, the International Commerce Centre (ICC) has stood as Hong Kong’s tallest building—a title it is unlikely to lose due to strict height restrictions. Yet, surprisingly, although plans were submitted in 2001 before the first formal 2006 height restrictions, its developers were not permitted to construct the tower they originally envisioned.

Initial designs by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates projected a 574-metre-tall (1,883 feet) mega-tower. These plans were submitted in 2001, right during a brief regulatory "golden window." However, while explicit statutory height limits did not exist yet, the Town Planning Board (TPB) used its 1999 Vision and Goals for Victoria Harbour to assume discretionary power, rejecting any master plan that dramatically overwhelmed the harbor's natural aesthetic.

The government’s primary argument during the late 2001 approval meetings centered on protecting the Kowloon Ridgelines. The Planning Department utilized a visual baseline framework requiring all skyscrapers to preserve a 20% "free zone" of visible mountain greenery when viewed from key vantage points across the harbor. The original 574-metre proposal would have completely severed this mountain backdrop.

Moreover, the ICC site had been legally zoned as a Comprehensive Development Area (CDA) since 1994. By law, every layout change, floor addition, or structural amendment within a CDA required a specialized planning application to the TPB. The government used its absolute veto power over these CDA regulations to pressure developers into lowering the tower's height in exchange for project approval.

Eventually, both sides agreed to the final height of 484 metres (1,588 feet). Interestingly, much like the ICC, Nina Tower in Tsuen Wan also faced severe height reductions, albeit for entirely different reasons.