If you believed the views put forward by environmentalist supporters, an ecological disaster is waiting to happen should the North/South Lantau link road go ahead.
Add to that, the development of the entertainment theme park at Penny's Bay, together with the residential development in Tung Chung and Lantau as we know it will become a barren wasteland where entire species of animals and fauna would be wiped out. That would be the scenario if you believed the hype.
Of course, a six-kilometre road is going to have some impact on the surrounding countryside, but it will most certainly not be the devastation that environmental groups are predicting. I, for one, am sceptical about some of the statistics that are being bandied around about the impact on the environment that this type of project will have.
For example, do the statistics prove beyond doubt that there are indeed 52 species of birds that use the Luk Tei Tong marshes as their permanent habitat? Statistics are easily manipulated and having lived in this area for a number of years I would count myself lucky if I had counted any more than five species.
At present, we have the Tung Chung to Cheung Sha Road which is definitely not for the faint-hearted. There have been many well-documented accidents on this road, some of which have been fatal. Other common incidents include chemical spills which invariably close the road for lengthy periods of time.
The Environmental Protection Department, by rejecting the planning application for a new road is effectively putting the habitat, which could easily be relocated, of a couple of frogs, plants and birds before the lives of humans.
