WWF-Hong Kong fears lack of oversight over offshore natural gas facility as council meeting to discuss environmental impact is scrapped
Members of government committee play down concerns, saying majority sit on subcommittee that has already vetted CLP Power’s report
A council meeting of government advisers to discuss the environmental impact of a planned offshore natural gas facility near Lantau Island has been scrapped, raising concerns from a green group that any decision will be “rubber-stamped”.
The Advisory Council on the Environment shelved the full council meeting as a subcommittee had already vetted CLP Power’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) thoroughly.
The EIA subcommittee – which 17 of the 22 council members sit on – gave the nod for the project, an offshore liquefied natural gas receiving terminal, on July 23, attached with six recommendations and 11 suggestions.
The terminal – estimated to cost about HK$6 billion and take at least 21 months to build – was proposed in 2016 to allow the city to buy natural gas from a wider range of sources at more competitive prices. It currently relies on a limited piped supply.
The council will make an official recommendation, pending comments and concerns from other members, and pass it onto the director of environmental protection, its chairman Stanley Wong Yuen-fai said.