Flats above container port could ease housing shortage, Hong Kong engineers say amid government scepticism
Group points out Kwai Tsing terminal could house nine Taikoo Shing estates in proposal being considered by task force
Building flats above one of the world’s busiest container terminals would be a feasible long-term solution to the housing shortage in Hong Kong, a group of experts said on Wednesday, even as the government argued that such a move would be “extremely costly and technically formidable”.
Three veteran engineers, including a former development chief, estimated that “tens of thousands” of residents could live on top of the Kwai Tsing container terminal.
The site could be as large as nine Taikoo Shing or 16 Mei Foo Sun Chuen housing estates based on land area. Taikoo Shing, which has a lower population density, has around 36,000 residents while Mei Foo Sun Chuen has about 39,000.
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“This proposal is technically and structurally feasible. The concept is not really any different from building housing on top of MTR stations or train depots, which Hong Kong already has plenty of experience with,” former development minister Mak Chai-kwong said.
Mak was referring to developments such as Telford Gardens, a private housing estate in Kowloon Bay, which is built on top of the city’s largest MTR depot.
Under the group’s suggestion, private and public flats could be built on top of a 50 to 60-metre (164 to 197 feet) high concrete deck, which would cover some 200 hectares (494 acres) of container storage area.
Mobile cranes used for transporting and stacking containers could be replaced by cranes attached to tracks below the concrete podium.