Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin

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The Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin (灣仔北貨物裝卸區) is situated in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. A prime site along Victoria Harbour, it is adjacent to the Wan Chai Sports Ground and located between the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The site has been earmarked under the Central Reclamation Phase III project for the construction of a highway linking Central with Causeway Bay aimed at easing traffic congestion along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island.

As its name implies, the basin was formerly used as a public cargo handling area. Mid-stream operators used to transfer goods from ocean-going ships onto barges. They then sailed to the Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin, where they transferred the goods onto trucks. In 2003, the basin's cargo-handling activities were relocated to the Chai Wan Public Cargo Working Area.

The breakwater of the basin is currently used as a helipad by the Government Flying Service to replace the Central Helipad at Fenwick Street.

[edit] Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin as a protest area during MC6

Preliminary agreement has been reached to designate the Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin and the nearby Wan Chai Sports Ground as protest zones for the more than 10,000 protesters expected to gather in Hong Kong for the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization. The conference, abbreviated as MC6, will be held in Hong Kong from 13th to 18th December 2005.

The protest organiser, the Hong Kong People’s Alliance on WTO, was unhappy with a previous proposed location for demonstrations, Southorn Playground, where protesters will have no direct view of the MC6 venue, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.