Hong Kong’s Lantau Tomorrow plan could become financially risky, run into delays, study on mega projects finds
- NGOs warn joint study on fate of similar mega-reclamation projects overseas ‘rings alarm bells’ for Lantau Tomorrow initiative
- Ten out of 13 projects featured in study experienced completion issues, including missing deadlines, postponed works or vacant sites
An ambitious project to build three artificial islands off the coast of Hong Kong’s Lantau to serve as a third business district could run into delays and become financially risky, concern groups have warned after studying similar initiatives overseas.
But the findings from a joint report from NGOs Greenpeace and Liber Research Community released on Thursday met with a strong rebuttal from the Development Bureau, which slammed the study as playing up problems faced by mega-reclamation projects worldwide.
“[The NGOs] made misleading remarks on the Kau Yi Chau artificial island project in an attempt to discredit this land-making project with major strategic functions,” the bureau wrote on social media.
“We call on them not to obstruct Hong Kong’s development with alarmist and fallacious remarks.”
The joint study found 10 out of the 13 overseas mega-reclamation projects featured had experienced completion issues, such as works either going over deadlines, being postponed or sites becoming vacant.