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Only reclamation can create new land for Hong Kong, Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun said.
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Other options, such as land rezoning, establishing new development zones and making use of brownfield sites, can only facilitate changes in land use, not creating more land, he said at a forum held by the Our Hong Kong Foundation today.
In a bid to promote the government’s HK$624 billion Lantau Tomorrow mega development plan, Wong said reclamation is closely related to Hong Kong’s development, and that the government considers it “the only way of creating new land.”
“I understand citizens might have different views regarding reclamation, but other ways of making land, including land rezoning, new development areas and reclaiming brownfield sites, are actually only changing its land use, instead of creating new land,” Wong said.
“Although only six percent of land was created through reclamation, it comprises 70 percent of Hong Kong’s commercial land and 30 percent of its living population. I think reclamation can solve multiple social problems, in terms of housing, education and social welfare,” he added.
Wong also said the government has already started the tendering exercise for the preliminary study of the 1,000-hectare reclamation project at Kau Yi Chau, in the waters south of Lantau Island, under Lantau Tomorrow.
The tender is expected to be approved in the middle of this year, and studies will follow soon after, alongside a series of public consultations, according to Wong.
Former Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Caejer Chan Ka-keung also threw his weight behind the Lantau Tomorrow development plan, saying reclamation can yield “a very high economic return”.
“The Lantau Tomorrow project should be able to cover its own cost. But I would also suggest the government control the cost and consider different financing options, including issuing bonds and adopting a public and private cooperation model,” Chan said.
