In all the hype over Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung's proposed 29km, $15 billion bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau, no mention has been made of the environmental impact of this project, nor the need for proper planning and consultation.
Instead business tycoons, tourism industry chiefs and most worryingly, senior government officials, have been lining up to give it their unreserved backing.
This proposal, which is linked to a new deep-sea container port off Tai O, southern Lantau, would involve massive reclamation of a beautiful, natural coastline, turn Tai O and its environs into an industrial zone, and runs contrary to all government planning intentions for south Lantau.
According to government plans, Tai O is earmarked for tourism while southern Lantau, in general, is to be preserved for recreation and conservation.
There has been no planning study of the need for such a massive bridge, no environmental review, let alone environmental impact assessment, and yet some senior officials have already given it their blessing.
Sir Gordon is chairman of the Port and Maritime Board and a member of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's Commission on Strategic Development. I would like to ask him, through these columns, given his company's plans for the bridge, does he not see this as a conflict of interest?
