ASMR (Airfield Surface Movement Radar) Tower, Kai Tak [c.1985-c.2016]

Submitted by David on Wed, 11/12/2014 - 21:04
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date completed
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)
Date closed / demolished
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)

Photos that show this Place

Comments

Notes from T:

The tower is gone soon I posted the photo  back on 2016.  Could not confirm the exact date but I guess we could consider it was demolished late in 2016 or early 2017.  The site is now under the Children Hospital expansion project.

This is called the Airfield Surface Movement Radar (ASMR) built at Kowloon Bay area, only housing a fast revolving radar head on top of this concrete structure detecting surface movement of aircraft mainly on the Kai Tak runway and its parallel taxiway. It was a primary radar and cannot detect any aircraft sqwark infomation. The site was not manned by any air traffic control staff.  It was particularly useful under low visibility when the Kai Tak Tower cannot observe the movement at the far SE end of the runway.  It ceased operations after the airport reloaction to Chek Lap Kok.   

A Environmental Impact Assessment Report/Contamination Assessment Plan of the site can be viewed here which gives a historical record of the building.

Of note, the Tower was constructed in 1984 and taken over by the Marine Department in 1998 for vessel detection in the Eastern Harbour after the closure of Kai Tak Airport.

Hong Kong Memory has a 1984 photo here showing the structure under construction. Likely completed in 1985 as seen in a Flickr photo of Kai Tak here