Recently, the Panel on Development of the Legislative Council (LegCo) supported two funding proposals relating to studies on reclamation, namely the Strategic Studies for Artificial Islands in the Central Waters and the Planning and Engineering Study on Sunny Bay Reclamation. The move was an important step towards addressing the imbalance in the demand and supply of land.
From 2011 to the middle of last year, two stages of public engagement activities on Enhancing Land Supply Strategy were launched to consult the public on the possible uses of proposed reclamation sites and major issue of concern in future technical studies. The views collected show that the public generally support the adoption of a multi-pronged approach, including reclamation outside Victoria Harbour, for enhancing land supply in the long run, and they agree that the newly reclaimed land could be used for housing, commercial activities, tourist facilities and recreational or leisure facilities, as well as building up a land reserve. On the other hand, members of the public also express concerns over marine ecology, ecological conservation, transport infrastructure, cost effectiveness and more. We will give due consideration to the public views in the two reclamation studies mentioned above.
The Strategic Studies for Artificial Islands in the Central Waters aim to explore the huge potential of the central waters between Hong Kong Island and Lantau geographically for the construction of one or several artificial islands, with a view to addressing the long-term needs for housing and the social and economic development of Hong Kong through the development of a well-planned and innovative East Lantau Metropolis (ELM). Meanwhile, through the provision of convenient transport infrastructure to strengthen the connectivity with the existing urban areas, the ELM can be developed into a new central business district with diversified employment opportunities to enhance our economic competitiveness and provide more balanced distribution for the overall development of Hong Kong.
The study area of the Sunny Bay reclamation is in the western waters to the north of Lantau and is adjacent to the Sunny Bay MTR station and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. The planning intention is to develop the area into a leisure and entertainment hub with diversified tourist facilities so as to create synergy with other tourist attractions in Lantau.
The Government understands the concerns of the LegCo and the general public over reclamation and the two studies above, such as the use of land and the impacts on fisheries, marine traffic and marine ecology. In view of this, we will conduct the studies earnestly and resolve the associated technical problems. Let me take the Sunny Bay reclamation study as an example and briefly respond to the public’s concerns.
Potential land uses
In view of the opinions collected during the public consultations, we have proposed a number of potential uses for the land provided by Sunny Bay reclamation, including tourism-related facilities, an entertainment and commercial hub and recreational or leisure facilities, all of which are widely supported by the public. In this regard, the consultants have to conduct market analysis in future studies, including the geographic advantages enjoyed by the related facilities and the ways in which they can complement other commercial facilities both within or outside Lantau. In addition, with its strategic position near the airport and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the area can be developed into an industrial park to provide job opportunities for Lantau and promote the economic development of Hong Kong. At the present stage, we will not rule out other suitable land uses for Sunny Bay.
Impacts on fisheries, marine traffic and marine ecology
We will explore the opportunities of adopting eco-shorelines in lieu of conventional seawalls to improve the environment. The concept of an eco-shoreline is to make use of inter-tidal water channels or to plant mangroves, construct mudflats and create wetlands along artificial shorelines so as to increase the biodiversity of the nearby water bodies. Moreover, we will consider deploying artificial reefs at suitable locations to improve the habitats for aquatic life and enrich the fisheries resources.
We know that members of the public are very concerned about the potential impacts of reclamation on marine ecology. As such, we will actively explore advanced and environmentally friendly reclamation technologies in future technical studies, such as the non-dredged reclamation method to minimise the impacts on marine ecology. This innovative reclamation method does not require the dredging of sediments on the seabed. Moreover, a new method will be used in the construction of seawalls by connecting a row of cellular structures to form a retaining wall and then backfilling public fill materials on top of the sediments inside the cellular structures. This method would not only minimise the impacts on the marine environment caused by the dredging of sediments, but also reduce the marine traffic during reclamation works.
Currently, the Civil Engineering and Development Department is conducting a cumulative environmental impact assessment (CEIA) for the Sunny Bay reclamation and two other potential reclamation sites, namely Siu Ho Wan and Lung Kwu Tan, in the western waters to the north of Lantau. A site survey on Chinese white dolphins (CWDs) is also under way. Initial findings of the CEIA and CWD survey show that there would be no insurmountable environmental problems for the Sunny Bay reclamation and the proposed reclamation site is not a CWD hot spot. Subject to the approval of the funding proposals, we will conduct a detailed statutory environmental impact assessment, covering various aspects such as air quality, water quality, hydraulics, ecology, fisheries, heritage, archaeology, noise, landscape and visual impacts, and reconfirm that the reclamation will not cause impacts in such areas.
For more than 100 years, Hong Kong has been producing land through reclamation, which proves to be an effective way of increasing land supply underpinning urban expansion. In fact, the current land shortage is closely related to the sharp decrease in reclamation in the past decade. The area of land generated by reclamation has substantially plunged in the past 10 years, from an average of 500 to 700 hectares (excluding Chek Lap Kok and West Kowloon) every five years in the past to a mere 84 hectares between 2005 and 2009, and further down to only 8 hectares between 2010 and 2013. Meanwhile, the surplus public fill materials were transported to Taishan for reclamation, producing more than 500 hectares of reclaimed land there between 2007 and 2013.
To cope with population growth, promote social and economic development, and respond to the public aspirations for a better quality of life, we need to have a continuous and stable land supply. Knowing that reclamation is a major issue of public concern, we have been striving to communicate with the community and proactively address their concerns. Moreover, we will conduct studies in a scientific and objective way and share the findings with stakeholders so as to allay the public’s concerns on reclamation. We will continue our efforts to forge consensus and work hand in hand with the community to build a better future for Hong Kong.
4 May, 2014
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