Opponents hope a ferry tour of the site will sway officials to scrap the proposal
A green group opposed to government plans to build a $12 billion 'superjail' on Hei Ling Chau will ferry legislators and district councillors to the pristine area today in the hope of swaying them against the project.
Organisers have chartered a ferry to take senior government officials, members of the Finance Committee and district councillors on a two-hour tour of the proposed site off Lantau Island.
'We're trying to give the government an opportunity to re-think this. We want the Finance Committee to reject a request for $46 million to fund a feasibility study for building this prison at Hei Ling Chau,' said Tom Masterson, a spokesman for the Living Islands Movement (LIM), formed to fight the development.
The island is home to Bogadek's legless lizard, which is endemic to Hong Kong and can only be found on Hei Ling Chau, Shek Kwu Chau and Sunshine Island.
Residents from nearby villages and those in sight of the proposed prison fear it will cause significant environmental damage and limit the area's potential for tourism development.
A study by the University of Hong Kong's department of ecology and biodiversity recently identified Hei Ling Chau as one of about 70 ecological 'hot spots' in Hong Kong.
