Lantau Tomorrow Vision: it would take two and a half Li Ka-shings to pay for it. Here’s what else HK$624 billion could get you
- Creation of 1,000 hectares of man-made islands to west of Hong Kong Island will cost an eye-watering HK$624 billion (US$80 billion)
- The Lantau Tomorrow Vision will be the most expensive infrastructure project in the city’s history, but what else could you get for the money?
Hong Kong could build about 160 hospitals or four new airport runways with the HK$624 billion estimated cost of a new metropolis to the west of Hong Kong Island.
The amount needed to realise the government’s Lantau Tomorrow Vision is so astronomical that even Hong Kong’s richest man, “Superman” Li Ka-shing, could not afford it with his personal fortune.
According to Forbes, the 90-year-old, who retired last year as chairman of CK Asset Holdings and CK Hutchison Group, has a personal net worth of HK$249 billion (US$31.7 billion). Even though Li’s empire has dominated many sectors in the city, and he has spent decades building his businesses, it would take 2½ “supermen” to afford the mega project, which is expected to provide about a quarter of a million flats.
Tin Shui Wai Hospital, which opened in 2017, cost HK$3.9 billion. With HK$624 billion, Hong Kong could have built 160 more.
The planned third runway, expected to boost the airport’s handling capacity, costs HK$141 billion.
“This could be the biggest trap in the history of Hong Kong,” Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki said.