Why Hong Kong is about to make a costly mistake in reclamation for East Lantau Metropolis

Roger Nissim’s letter (“Why Hong Kong’s land supply debate is starting to look like a farce”, August 17) points out how Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Our Hong Kong Foundation have undermined the Task Force on Land Supply, making a mockery of the public consultation now underway (“Think tank suggests new island to ease shortage of homes”, August 7). I’d argue that the task force is a pliant enabler of the government’s determination to make mega reclamation the centrepiece of development.

The government’s plan to reclaim 1,000 hectares from the sea to create a city – the East Lantau Metropolis – has met with scepticism since former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced it in January 2014. His administration subsequently withdrew a proposal to the Legislative Council for a feasibility study of this metropolis.

The task force lists the East Lantau Metropolis as one of 18 options in its “public engagement exercise”. However, the metropolis is in a league of its own because of its complexity, cost and environmental impact. Planned to house up to 700,000 people, it’s presented as a panacea for Hong Kong’s housing crisis. In fact, it cannot increase housing supply in the short term and will cause overcapacity in the long term.