A green group has argued there is no justification for spending $12 billion on a 'superjail' in an ecologically sensitive area while army barracks and other potentially suitable facilities stand empty.
Dr Man Chi-sum, chief executive officer of Green Power, said there was no need to spend more than $1.7 million per prisoner to relocate 7,000 inmates to one central prison.
'Based on the cost and on environmental considerations, the government should look at alternatives, such as the British army barracks standing empty in the New Territories,' he said.
The facility on Hei Ling Chau, just off Lantau Island, would replace eight prisons, which the government would be able to sell and make about $38 billion.
'In the current economic situation it would be better to first look at extending the existing prisons or looking at different areas where old structures can be rebuilt,' he said. 'This [proposed development] is not a wise use of the budget.'
A Security Bureau paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Wednesday said Hei Ling Chau was picked because there was no suitable site available in urban Hong Kong.
Although Kong Nga Po in the northern New Territories was earlier shortlisted as a potential site, the bureau said Hei Ling Chau was chosen after taking into account a range of factors, including the unsuitability of either site for other types of development.
