Temporary reclamation work for the Central-Wan Chai bypass will be carried out in four phases, with reclaimed land removed as each section of the road's tunnel is completed, a court has heard.
Details of the government's plans for reclaiming 8.3 hectares of seabed in and around Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter were outlined in the Court of First Instance yesterday.
The Society for the Protection of the Harbour is seeking a declaration in the judicial-review hearing that the government's temporary reclamation plans fall under the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance.
The ordinance established a presumption against all future reclamation of the harbour unless there was 'an overriding public need' for the work that was supported by 'cogent and convincing materials'.
Government counsel Jat Sew-tong said boats moored in each section of the typhoon shelter - with up to 3.9 hectares of moorings affected at any one time - would be moved into a temporary typhoon shelter during the work.
A 4.2-hectare breakwater almost 500 metres from the shore, as well as two wave walls, would be built to protect the boats, including yachts from the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, he told the court.
Mr Jat said the temporary reclamation was not subject to the ordinance because it would be carried out strictly for building the road tunnel and not for forming land - the definition of reclamation in the statute.
