1991 study firm helped compile ruled out Black Point for LNG
One of the two sites CLP Power is proposing for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal was ruled out for such a facility 15 years ago in a report on a feasibility study for the government which the company, then called China Light and Power, helped conduct.
The report, which has never been made public, considered 27 possible sites, including Black Point in Tuen Mun, and shortlisted seven, including South Soko Island, which was the site it most favoured.
Public consultation closed last week on CLP Power's environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for LNG terminals on South Soko Island and at Black Point.
The discovery of the 1992 report led environmental groups to question whether CLP Power had proposed Black Point for an LNG terminal as a smokescreen to bolster support for building one on South Soko Island.
'No one knows for sure if all those site studies and the rationale for development are true or not. The whole scenario could have been 'made up' by the power supplier and there is a possibility the Black Point site is only a smokescreen,' said Gloria Chang Wan-ki, a campaigner for Greenpeace.
Alan Leung Sze-lun, conservation officer for WWF, said the report's existence showed debate about the merits of the two sites lacked transparency. 'Are the two sites real and genuine choices? Or was there only one option from the start? Why were we given thousands of pages of environmental impact assessment report when some of the information about the site might be irrelevant?' Dr Leung asked.