Tung Chung is a well-planned new town located at the north of Lantau Island. According to the Concept Plan for Lantau revised in 2007, the maximum population capacity of Tung Chung is 220 000, yet its population today is only some 80 000, which is less than half of what is planned. However, with a number of large-scale infrastructure projects near Tung Chung, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge’s Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and the Hong Kong Link Road and the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link to be completed soon, there is potential to develop Tung Chung into an attractive regional commercial and tourism node and bring more jobs to the local community given its strategic location.
We have recently announced the Tung Chung New Town Extension Study Stage 2 Public Engagement (PE) in order to grasp the above opportunity by extending Tung Chung to its east and west. The initial land use options are as follows: (1) For Tung Chung West, the theme of “Development and Conservation - A Balance” is proposed. We will make use of the fallow agricultural land with limited reclamation in the vicinity of Tung Chung Bay (with a maximum of 14 hectares) to provide additional housing land while preserving and enhancing the distinctive characteristics and historic landscape of the rural area. (2) For Tung Chung East, reclamation will be limited to approximately 120 hectares at the west of Tai Ho Wan. There are two suggested land use themes: Theme 1 is the option of “Livable Town”, which is to house more population through higher development densities around a proposed MTR station, while Theme 2 is the option of “Economic Vibrancy”, which is to create a regional commercial hub in Tung Chung alongside housing supply.
During the Stage 1 PE exercise launched last year, the public generally agreed that Tung Chung has potential to be further developed. Whilst there were no major objections to reclamation in Tung Chung East, there was a general preference for developing fallow agricultural land over reclamation in Tung Chung West. There was also a general view that the impacts on the ecology and environment of Tung Chung Bay and the Tung Chung River should be minimised. However, if we exclude the option of reclamation and a larger scale of development, the development potential of Tung Chung West will be severely limited. It is unlikely that the existing population of Tung Chung West alone could justify the construction of a new MTR station, and a number of planning principles developed according to the public comments received during the Stage 1 PE, including meeting housing needs, improving connectivity, capitalising on the advantages of a transportation hub, providing balanced allocation of facilities and open space, promoting economic development, adopting sustainable urban design and preserving heritage and ecology, etc, cannot be achieved under such circumstances.
Over the past 10 years or so, the development of Tung Chung has always been described as “as slow as a snail”. Many local residents are dissatisfied with the transportation, job opportunities and community facilities in the district. In fact, Tung Chung has always been planned according to the “Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines”, yet the provision of community facilities such as schools, parks, libraries, hospitals and police stations is subject to local population growth. With the proposed Tung Chung extension, we hope that Tung Chung can be developed into a better new town.
Let me briefly explain the initial land use options of Tung Chung East and Tung Chung West below for your consideration.
For Tung Chung East, the “Livable Town” option is based on a transport-oriented development concept to increase the development intensity of residential areas within a 500-metre walking distance from the proposed Tung Chung East MTR Station, where plot ratios (PRs) of 5 and 6 will be adopted. The area next to the station will be developed into a Metro Core Area with mixed residential and commercial uses, and the domestic PR band is proposed to descend to a PR of 4 to the north and a PR of 3 near the waterfront. For the “Economic Vibrancy” option, more land will be reserved for commercial development so as to bring more job and business opportunities to the community. In this option, we will provide about 450 000 square metres of floor area for office, regional retail and hotel uses. A 350-berth marina is also planned for the south-eastern edge of the area and another parcel of land at the northern side of the proposed reclamation will be identified for provision of waterfront dining and retail facilities. The “Livable Town” and "Economic Vibrancy” options will provide 38 000 and 33 000 residential flats with planned populations of 111 000 and 95 000 respectively.
The development density of Tung Chung West is relatively lower in order to strike a balance between development and conservation. The scale of reclamation will be significantly reduced to avoid mudflats and mangroves, and seawater flows within Tung Chung Bay will not be affected based on preliminary assessment. Having regard to the public housing development at Area 39 of Tung Chung, higher density developments with domestic PRs of up to 5 and 6 are proposed for the southern part along Tai Chung Road with the backdrop of Tai Tung Shan. A domestic PR of 3 will be applicable to the areas adjoining Yat Tung Estate. Developments near the village clusters will be subject to a domestic PR of 1.5, whilst the intensity will be limited to a domestic PR of 0.75 in areas near the Tung Chung River estuary and the domestic PRs of the reclamation site will be 3 and 5. These areas will provide about 15 000 residential flats in total with a planned population of 43 000. There will also be commercial areas, waterfront promenades and government, institution and community facilities in Tung Chung West. We will try to seek a balanced mix of public and private housing for the whole Tung Chung extension under study to create a harmonious community.
The Stage 2 PE will last for two months until July 21. We hope that all of you will actively participate in the activities being held, including briefings, community workshops, public forums, roving exhibitions, focus group meetings and online platforms, so as to share with us your views and assist us in formulating an Outline Development Plan which can positively respond to public aspirations and the needs of the community.
26 May, 2013
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