Letters | Hong Kong housing: must Lantau’s natural beauty be entirely sacrificed at the altar of development?
- The pace of reclamation around Tung Chung could turn the vast sea into an expanse of land in the next decade
While watching an episode of an internet series on hotels of the world, I learned of the eco-friendly The Brando resort on French Polynesia’s private island of Tetiaroa. It was fabulous to see the steps taken to conserve the environment in all aspects of human life, from fresh water to electricity, food and construction.
Environment-friendly steps include solar cells for electricity, seawater air conditioning, an organic vegetable farm and a logistics dock in the middle of the sea to avoid displacement of animal species to maintain the ecological balance of the site. The resort’s “ecostation” gives researchers the space to analyse the species of the area.
In the 13 years we have been in Tung Chung, we have seen four residential estates – one more is under construction – and a hotel spring up in front of us. There is no doubt Hong Kong has to develop, but there has been huge reclamation in this area. The sea bridge, the longest sea crossing in the world, rose up before our eyes.
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Rare pink dolphin makes comeback as Covid-19 quiets Hong Kong waters
I have now spent 25 years in Hong Kong and experienced the city’s ups and downs. Today, I can confidently predict that the vast sea I was able to see when I moved to Tung Chung is going to be an expanse of land in a decade.