Decision on Hong Kong’s ‘last resort’ landfill, incinerator plans put on hold again

Lawmakers failed for the second time yesterday to reach a crucial vote on controversial works the government says are needed to stave off a looming waste crisis.

A meeting of a Legislative Council subcommittee studying plans to extend the Tseung Kwan O landfill and to construct an incinerator off Shek Kwu Chau was forced to a close before it reached its statutory time limit because of filibustering and protests from the audience.

The vote by the public works subcommittee was delayed last month after lawmakers ran out of time to ask questions.

Yesterday, Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing made a strong appeal for the HK$20 billion proposals to be approved, saying they were the "last resort" to cope with the city's growing waste pile. "With just a few years before the landfills are full, do members of this council have any other alternative solutions to address the public hygiene problem?" Wong asked.

But lawmakers said conditions set out in the 13 motions tabled in the last meeting of the subcommittee must be met before approval could be granted and the funding request can go to the Legislative Council finance committee.

"We need to attach these conditions to the funding requests if they are to be handled by the Finance Committee," NeoDemocrat Gary Fan Kwok-wai, whose constituency includes Tseung Kwan O, said.