The Hong Kong government will pay triple what it initially planned to spend in constructing its new Kai Tak cruise facility, according to a local newspaper.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan, said total costs for the construction project, including broad seafront development and a HK$900 million cruise terminal, were now at $7.2 billion, according to an article in The Standard newspaper. An earlier estimate set the price at $2.4 billion.

Initially, the government sought private developers to fund the project, and the $2.4 billion was dangled as a subsidy, the paper reported. But in September, the government had given up trying to find bidders for the project and would finance it with public money.

Officials expect the new facility, able to accommodate vessels up to 100,000 tons in two cruise berths, to be complete by 2013. The project also requires site formation work, including reconstruction of an existing seawall and the construction of government buildings for customs, immigration, health quarantine and police for the cruise terminal.