Owners hand over Disney site shipyard
A shipyard near the site for the Disneyland project on Lantau Island has been handed over to the Government after the operator pocketed about $1.5 billion in compensation.
The handover of the 19-hectare Cheoy Lee Shipyard came after months of negotiations amid controversy over its contamination problems. The yard will be scrapped to make way for access roads around the theme park, which is scheduled to open in late 2005 at Penny's Bay.
A spokeswoman for the Lands Department confirmed yesterday that Cheoy Lee had accepted the Government's compensation offer and handed over the site on Tuesday. It is understood the company was paid about $1.5 billion, based on the Government's standard compensation rate of $738 per square foot for areas affected by essential projects with territory-wide significance.
A spokeswoman for the Civil Engineering Department said it would carry out detailed investigations at the site next week to check contamination levels. Before construction work starts at the yard, the department will also conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment study on the decommissioning of the yard.
The shipyard operators did not allow government civil engineers to conduct preliminary contamination checks until last May - six months after the Disney deal was announced. The preliminary test report, handed to the Environmental Protection Department, is understood to have found contamination problems on the site are localised.
Cheoy Lee is still fighting for compensation over its claim of sea rights under the Foreshore and Seabed (Reclamations) Ordinance.
