Advertisement

Hong Kong does not need costly Yuen Long footbridge to join the list of white elephants and hurt the local lifestyle

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
The living environment along the Yuen Long nullah may suffer if a proposed footbridge costing HK$1.7 billion is built. The Hong Kong government postponed the funding request on the Legco Finance Committee’s agenda on June 26. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

I would like to voice my opposition towards a proposed footbridge project in Yuen Long, which has been presented to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council.

The cost of the 540-metre-long footbridge, running from Long Ping MTR Station to Kau Yuk Road over the Yuen Long Town Nullah, is estimated to be HK$1.7 billion, the highest among similar construction projects in Hong Kong.

For years, sections of Yuen Long Main Road near Hong Lok Road and Tai Tong Road have been overcrowded during rush hours and holidays. According to the government, the footbridge is intended to address this problem.

But the pedestrian paths along the nullah’s banks are not congested at all times, nor is the nullah near the overcrowded parts of the town centre. There is also a footbridge west of the nullah connecting Long Ping Station and Fung Nin Road. The proposed footbridge would thus do little to alleviate the overcrowding in the town centre.

The nullah provides a wide corridor that facilitates ventilation in the district. Elderly and other residents gather to rest or play chess in the shady sections of the banks with trees. By blocking the entire nullah and potentially removing many of the trees on the nullah’s banks, the footbridge, if executed according to the government’s plan, would be detrimental to Yuen Long’s living environment.

White elephants? Eight costly Hong Kong projects that left people asking why

Lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (centre) leads a protest in Yuen Long over the construction of the proposed footbridge. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (centre) leads a protest in Yuen Long over the construction of the proposed footbridge. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

How Hong Kong’s geography led to the adoption of the word ‘nullah’

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2-3x faster
1.1x
220 WPM
Slow
Normal
Fast
1.1x