Lantau land reclamation scheme will use local construction waste rather than imported sand, says Hong Kong development secretary
- Michael Wong Wai-lun rebuts claims sand shortages will send cost of project spiralling out of control
- Experts warn Lantau Tomorrow Vision project will face different challenges than other reclamation works
Hong Kong’s development chief says local construction waste, rather than imported sand, will be the major material for a controversial reclamation project, dismissing concerns that a shortage of sand might inflate costs.
Michael Wong Wai-lun yesterday explained to the media the cost estimates for the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project, announced this month as the government’s grand plan to tackle land shortage, after a media report suggested the high cost of marine sand could send the cost of the reclamation project out of control.
The Lantau scheme, covering reclamation of 1,700 hectares from the sea, involves the construction of artificial islands off Lantau Island in western Hong Kong. The government says the project would build Lantau into a new metropolis.
The plan has prompted thousands of people to take to the streets in protest at the high costs. Some are also dissatisfied with the way the announcement pre-empted an ongoing public consultation on ways to deal with land shortage.
The secretary for development said the Lantau project would rely more on local construction waste as fill materials, instead of imported marine sand.
“Construction waste will be a major component and form a considerable percentage of the amount of fill, but an exact figure can only be obtained after some engineering studies,” he said outside a district council meeting.