Two mainland academics say they have the answer to the city's land shortage - reclaiming the waters between Lamma, Cheung Chau, Peng Chau and two smaller islands.
The reclamation would create 25 sq km of extra land - roughly the amount of built up land on Hong Kong Island, they say. The ambitious plan would cost HK$11.2 billion.
The proposal comes from Lei Qiang, professor at the Centre for Studies of Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, and Qian Zhaojun , a former deputy director of the Navigation Design and Survey Institute in Guangzhou.
They argue that Hong Kong faces an acute shortage of land and their plan would create plenty of valuable land for future development.
Professor Lei said reclamation of the waters near the islands, which have an average depth of seven metres, was technically feasible.
'It would create space for comprehensive development,' he said. 'Development on such a vast piece of land would be more cost-effective than on scattered pieces of land in other parts of Hong Kong.'