After years and millions of dollars, the Planning Department has published a technical report on the Territorial Development Strategy Review 96 for public consultation until December 31. It sets out the physical framework for Hong Kong to remain a trade and finance hub.
The basic resource needed for this is land - of which we have precious little. Much of the report deals with the land needed to meet the demands of commercial, industrial and residential sectors, as well as supporting infrastructure and community uses.
Two scenarios are put forward: the first assumes a population of 7.5 million; the second assumes a population of 8.1 million. Land needs for both scenarios are 2,573 and 3,168 hectares respectively. That's a lot of land and it can only come from the New Territories or harbour reclamation.
The report sets out the pros and cons of New Territories and harbour-biased options. The disadvantages of the New Territories option 'outnumber' the harbour options by 13 to 11. Is this really so or are some of the disadvantages under the New Territories option 'man-made'? For instance, the lead-time is a disadvantage to the former because comprehensive feasibility studies have not yet been conducted but it is an advantage for the latter because studies already have been done.
Other disadvantages are the large commuter travel demands with longer trip times and increased congestion. But these so-called disadvantages assume maintaining the metro areas as centres of employment.
They can be negated by the development of the New Territories to enable better population-job distribution and reduce travel times; a factor acknowledged under the list of advantages.