Gasworks site to house flats amid concern on nearby plant

Hong Kong & China Gas (Towngas) has proposed building a residential development on its former gasworks site in To Kwa Wan, part of which will be only 50 metres away from an operational gas plant.

Despite securing approval for the development, with measures to minimise potential danger, analysts said its proximity to the gasworks could make it less attractive to buyers.

One block of the development is 50 metres away. Analysts said that represented only several times the width of To Kwa Wan Road, which separates the plant and the residential project.

The gas plant, also owned by Towngas, supplies 5 per cent of Hong Kong's gas, but the Government has for some time wanted Towngas to move the plant.

Yesterday, a Town Planning Board spokesman said Towngas had proposed building five residential towers on the site, with one at the waterfront and in front of the other four towers.

For the five towers, the longest distance to the northern plant was 200 metres and the shortest 50 metres, he said. Some existing residential buildings were closer to the plant.

Each block would rise 50 storeys. The project would provide a residential area of 979,000 square feet with 1,760 flats and commercial space of 130,000 sq ft.

At present, pipes carrying naphtha products and volatile liquid hydrocarbon mixtures pass beneath the residential site.

During a previous meeting, some Town Planning Board members had expressed concern about the possibility of accidents, but the spokesman yesterday said Towngas would stop using the pipes. The operation of the plant would be monitored by the Environmental Protection Department and Towngas had to comply with certain safety guidelines before construction.

The planning board also gave approval for Pacific Century CyberWorks to incorporate green-building features into its CyberPort residential development in Pokfulam.

The 2.24-million-sq ft project will now have balconies, which are exempted from the calculation of gross floor area. Seven of the 22 blocks will have sky-gardens in the middle floors.

The company was yesterday also allowed to convert three office-floors, totalling 43,813 sq ft, of its PCCW Tower in Quarry Bay into a health and fitness club.

Separately, Asian Resources said it wanted to increase the plot ratio of its residential project in Fanling, to five times from 0.4 times, but the proposal was rejected.