The government is moving towards burying bits of the city - the unsightly ones - in underground caverns, freeing up more land for housing and economic development, according to officials.
Two feasibility studies were in the planning stage, and officials would seek funding approval from lawmakers in April and May, Deputy Secretary for Development Enoch Lam Tin-sing said yesterday.
The studies would give the government a basis for policy guidelines to encourage cavern developments for both public and private sectors - following the example of some European countries - he said.
The idea of using caverns for unpopular utilities - like sewage treatment plants, fuel storage depots, refuse transfer stations and columbariums - has been under discussion for over a year.
The scheme will begin by identifying suitable rock caverns to house 400 government facilities that can be relocated, notably the not-in-my-backyard utilities disliked by nearby residents.
'Like European countries, we can see a local trend of vacating land by putting facilities inside caverns,' Lam said. 'The extension of the campus of the University of Hong Kong is one example. We expect more from the private sector,' he said, adding that caverns have been used as wine cellars, data centres and car parks in Finland and other countries.
The university hid a saltwater reservoir in an artificial cavern next to its Centenary Campus, in a project that cost HK$500 million.