Harbour reclamation kits bite the dust
Advisory body promises to issue new consultation packs on Wan Chai's waterfront as soon as possible
The harbour advisory body yesterday withdrew a two-week-old information kit proposing reclamation of up to 25 hectares at Wan Chai. Instead, a new information booklet will be published to aid discussion, the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee's subcommittee on Wan Chai development said after a meeting last night.
'As the three illustrations contained in the kit had given rise to confusion ... the subcommittee decided it will issue another kit as soon as possible ... to facilitate public engagement,' it said.
Some members of the committee wanted to express regret for the confusion created by the initial release, but deputy lands minister Thomas Tso Man-tai yesterday blamed the media for the confusion and refused to apologise, saying the government should not give the media an unfavourable news story for tomorrow.
The government published the information kit two weeks ago in the name of the subcommittee without telling its members. It's release provoked a new public outcry against reclamation because it outlined three concepts that would reclaim up to 25 hectares.
Some committee members also complained they had not been consulted over the options. Two days after the release, the subcommittee held a press briefing to clarify its position and asked the public to ignore the government options.
Members of the subcommittee discussed the draft of the new information kit yesterday.
The one-page draft only says the new document will list key issues in the debate, progress of the study on Wan Chai development and information for future public forums.
But members, wary after the confusion last time, refused to endorse the draft. The issue will be discussed at the subcommittee's next meeting.
'How can I endorse the draft without seeing it in detail,' member Chan Wai-kwan said.
Also at yesterday's meeting, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club expressed its support for the tunnel option, which would reclaim 23 hectares and build a tunnel underneath, saying it would improve the waterfront for the public.
That option was listed in the first information kit. The other two options were to build an elevated highway or a surface road on the reclaimed land.
The club also presented its plan, which proposes the extension of Victoria Park to the waterfront and the transformation of the Causeway Bay typhoon shelter into an artificial beach. But it did not disclose whether the plan involved reclamation or how it would affect the government's plans at Wan Chai.
'There are many fishermen using the shelter,' committee member Ng Mee-kam, associate planning professor at the University of Hong Kong, said. 'They will be affected by your proposal of turning the shelter into a beach. You should engage them in the discussion.'
