Editorial | Hong Kong’s Lantau islands vision has to be a lot clearer
- There is need for full transparency and for officials to listen carefully to community’s doubts over feasibility of project that comes with breathtaking price tag
The ambitious plan to build a new business district in Hong Kong on artificial islands reclaimed from the sea has been controversial since it was announced in 2018. Concerns remain about the feasibility, financial viability and economic impact of the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project, with its breathtaking HK$580 billion (US$73.9 billion) price tag.
Only 30 per cent of respondents to a Greenpeace poll published this week said they had confidence in the project, while 55 per cent said they did not. Worries about the financial burden on the government were expressed by 54 per cent and more than half doubted the promised HK$200 billion economic returns.
The results are broadly in line with two similar surveys conducted earlier.
The project, which involves building three artificial islands for the 1,000-hectare development, is intended to provide Hong Kong with much-needed land for commercial and residential use. It will provide 210,000 flats for half a million residents.
This will be in addition to a second huge development, the Northern Metropolis, planned for the New Territories. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said both are needed to meet the city’s housing needs and ensure it is competitive.