Artificial island half the size of Kowloon could house 1.1 million Hongkongers in new proposal

A think tank led by Hong Kong’s first chief executive has partnered with three major global consultants to propose reclaiming 2,200 hectares of land for housing to the east of Lantau Island in what would be the largest project of its kind in the city’s history.

The proposed artificial island would house 1.1 million people, being half the size of Kowloon and twice that of the East Lantau Metropolis the government plans to build in the 2040s by reclaiming and combining two islands east of Lantau.

The think tank, Our Hong Kong Foundation, and its research partners on Tuesday said the project, aimed at easing the city’s acute shortage of affordable housing, could be worked on in phases and described it as a game changer.

“High property prices have severely affected people’s livelihood,” said Tung Chee-hwa, the think tank’s founder, who led the city as chief executive from 1997 to 2005.

“Many people are forced to live in subdivided housing, with a wide gap between the rich and the poor. We must think of solutions to address the status quo.”

The foundation concluded one answer would be reclamation outside Victoria Harbour, Tung said, though he conceded such an effort would take time. He suggested that short-term solutions such as realising the potential of privately owned farmland in the New Territories and developing damaged agricultural land – referred to locally as a brownfield site – would also be necessary.