Hong Kong's litigation facilities are set for a significant upgrade with the construction of a new 'mega court', as part of a government drive to meet the growing demand for court services in the region.

The court will be located inside a new HK$2.7bn (£234m) development known as the West Kowloon Law Courts Building (WKLCB), which is due for completion in 2015 after construction began last year.

The WKLCB, a twin-tower development located at the junction of Tung Chau Street and Tonkin Street West in Sham Shui Po in West Kowloon, will provide an additional 32 courtrooms and 16,500 sq m of operational floor space, as well as extra facilities such as witness protection rooms, consultation rooms, waiting areas, jury assembly points and registration and interview rooms.

The building will be able to accommodate around 100 members of the public as well as large groups of defendants and lawyers.

"At present, if a trial involves more than five to six defendants, there are a lot of lawyers, and there are difficulties managing the seating," said Hong Kong Law Society vice president Stephen Hung Wan-shun.

"Especially where cases attract the media or the public, the courts cannot accommodate everyone. This mega court will be much bigger," he added. "It will not be used exclusively by magistrates' proceedings. If any trial either at the District Court or the High Court needs a bigger courtroom for any reason, then this court room will be available."

The WKLCB was first proposed by Hong Kong's judiciary in 2010 to boost the operational efficiency of existing proceedings. In addition to the mega court, the new development will also house the Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court – one of the seven magistrates' courts in the region – the Small Claims Tribunal, the Coroner's Courts and the Obscene Articles Tribunal.

The existing Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court building will be closed down, and the space left by the remaining tribunals and courts will be used to expand other litigation facilities.

"[The new facilities] will mean all court rooms will be housed under one roof," added Wan-shun. "At the moment they are in different places. Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court was built in the 1970s, so it's pretty old building and the maintenance is quite expensive.

"By moving [this court] there will also be a distribution of workload. At some of the magistrates' courts, such as Kwun Tong and Kowloon City, the workload is very heavy. They will spread the work around, so you won't end up with one magistrates' court doing all the work."