Placing a heavier onus on tenants of a Central waterfront space to monitor event organisers can help "prevent unpleasant experiences" from occurring, the Harbourfront Commission said on Wednesday.

The government has launched an open tender for a new tenant of the Central Harbourfront Event Space, while placing stricter requirements and conditions for overseeing the roughly 3.7-hectare site.

According to the Development Bureau, the future tenant will be required to assess the credentials and capabilities of organisers in hosting events before approving venue applications.

The tenant should closely monitor event preparations, keep the bureau updated, and hold a meeting with the organiser and officials before each event.

Commission chairman Ivan Ho said an alert mechanism could allow authorities to intervene in a timely manner and prevent the recurrence of incidents such as the ill-fated AIA International Hot Air Balloon Fest.

"We hope that there is a mechanism in place to prevent [unpleasant experiences] from happening in the future, or to make problems known as early as possible when they arise," Ho told an RTHK programme.

"That is to let the government understand the situation in advance or in a timely manner, supervise, cooperate, or help solve some problems, so that unpleasant experiences in the past won't happen again."

The future tenant will also be required to fill at least 30 percent of its annual schedule with events for the public. If it fails to deliver what it has committed to in the tender, it will face a fine equivalent to 10 percent of the event space's monthly rent for each day of shortfall.

"The aim [of the requirement] is not about imposing fines, but to encourage the tenant to better utilise this precious harbourfront site," lawmaker Perry Yiu said on the same radio show.

By putting what he called a "landmark" strip of land to good use, Yiu said it could boost Hong Kong's tourism.