Hong Kong leader’s vision for new city off coast of Lantau Island moves a step closer after lawmakers approve HK$550 million impact study
- Public Works Subcommittee approves funding for assessment that would take almost two years to complete
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s dream is to build artificial islands covering some 1,700 hectares
Government officials cleared one of the first hurdles in their bid to build artificial islands off Lantau, after lawmakers gave an initial nod to a HK$550 million funding request to conduct studies for the reclamation project.
During a Public Works Subcommittee meeting at the Legislative Council on Saturday, lawmakers endorsed the funding request so it could move onto the final stage of approval at the Finance Committee. Twenty lawmakers voted for it, 16 voted against after almost three hours of deliberation.
The HK$550 million would include a detailed planning and engineering study to reclaim 1,000 hectares around the outlying island Kau Yi Chau, transport infrastructure studies and environmental impact assessments.
Should it get the go-ahead from the Finance Committee, officials hope to begin the study, which would take nearly two years to complete, in the latter half of this year.
Under Secretary for Development Liu Chun-san made an appeal to lawmakers on Saturday during the meeting.
“Increasing land supply needs our immediate action,” Liu said. “Give us a chance to increase land supply, solve our housing shortage, solve traffic congestion, so Hong Kong’s economy can develop sustainably.”
The city faces a shortage of 1,200 hectares of land for its housing and economic development in the next three decades, according to government estimates.
The controversial project, also known as the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, centres on 1,700 hectares of man-made islands that would become a housing and business hub. It also involves a cross-sea transport network linking the islands to Lantau, Tuen Mun and Hong Kong Island.
The first phase, which includes 1,000 hectares of artificial islands around Kau Yi Chau, near-shore reclamation and part of the transport network, would cost HK$624 billion to build.
Opponents fear the plan will drain the city’s financial reserves, currently above HK$1.1 trillion.
Some 150,000 to 260,000 flats built on the metropolis could house 400,000 to 700,000 people, with the first group slated to move there in 2032.
The government has pledged to reserve 70 per cent of flats for public housing.
Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu said there would be no turning back once the HK$550 million funding was approved.
“Have there been any instances where the government completed such feasibility studies and actually came back to the Legislative Council and said: No, we won’t go forward with this?” Kwong said. “This government is choosing to throw all the money into the sea for this project.” Liu said the feasibility study would address all technical solutions, while the project would only go ahead if it fit the society’s economic development needs at the time.
