In the recently announced paper on the Stage 2 Public Engagement on “Enhancing Land Supply Strategy: Reclamation Outside Victoria Harbour and Rock Cavern Development”, we proposed the creation of land by reclamation and to establish a “land reserve” by reclamation. I want to take this opportunity to share with you the concept of land reserve. There are differences between short, medium and long-term land reserve provided by reclamation:
(1) Short-term land reserve. This refers to sites where reclamation has been carried out and the land has been formed. These sites are ready for use when need arises. They can be used for short-term purposes through short-term tenancies or other means before being allocated for long-term uses.
(2) Medium-term land reserve. This refers to potential reclamation sites which have already gained community support through public engagement, where detailed studies and design have been completed. In these cases we will not carry out reclamation right away. When market needs are expected, we can then apply for funding from the Legislative Council to start reclamation. In other words, these will be sites ready for use to respond to market needs in a few years after we have decided to carry out reclamation.
(3) Long-term land reserve. This refers to sites that fulfill our site selection criteria, where the Government will conduct preliminary and broad-brush studies to examine their preliminary feasibility. After public engagement and site selection, the sites will be earmarked for long-term land reserve use. Detailed studies and design will only be carried out when need arises. If the studies are positive, depending on the urgency of land use, these sites may be upgraded to medium-term land reserve use or reclamation may be carried out right away to provide short-term land reserve use. Regarding the five near-shore reclamation sites we selected in the Stage 2 Public Engagement, if they are supported by the public, the feasibility detailed studies mentioned above will be conducted so as to provide medium- to short-term land reserve use.
Based on the recent model of development, a typical project of near-shore reclamation usually takes more than 5 years to complete, from selecting specific potential sites to going through public engagement activities, as well as technical and other studies including environmental assessment, statutory procedures and detailed design. Afterwards, it takes another 4 to 5 years for funding application, tendering, and construction. The whole process of reclamation, from the conceptual stage to site readiness, usually takes more than 10 years. That’s why we have to engage in forward looking and long-term planning to proceed with our development systematically. We should not leave things until the last minute.
Take our neighbour Singapore for example. The Singapore government started reclamation at Marina Bay in the 1970s and embarked on further reclamation in 1991 to build a better inner port. At that time, the reclamation area included some land reserve without specific land uses. As at 2000, Marina Bay was still designated for financial use. In 2005, the Singapore government began its study to change the land use of the site for other industries and the Marina Bay Integrated Resort was eventually completed in 2010. Singapore needed only 5 years to complete the development of this integrated resort, which provides all-in-one facilities for convention and exhibition, retail and entertainment. Underlying this success is the Singapore government’s establishment of a land reserve which could be used promptly for future development.
Singapore began large-scale reclamation in the 1960s. The original area of Singapore was 520 square kilometres, which is only slightly more than half of the area of Hong Kong. As Singapore is less hilly, its developable flat land is larger than that of Hong Kong. However, in the past 50 years the Singapore government has created 14,000 hectares (140 square kilometers) of land through reclamation, a 20 per cent increase of its original area.
In Hong Kong by comparison, land provided by reclamation in the last century only amounts to 6, 800 hectares, which amounts to only 6 per cent of its original area and less than half of the amount of land reclaimed in Singapore. However, Hong Kong’s newly created land accommodates 27 per cent of the city’s total residents and provides 70 per cent of its office floor area. In fact, land provided through reclamation in Hong Kong has decreased significantly in the past 10 years, from an average of 500 to 700 hectares of land per 5 years in the past (excluding the 1, 274 hectares of land in Chek Lap Kok and West Kowloon), to 84 hectares from 2005 to 2009. In 2010, only one hectare of land was created through reclamation.
Over the last century, digging up mountain and reclamation was the main way of increasing land supply in Hong Kong. New towns such as Sha Tin, Ma On Shan and Tai Po were built in this way. After almost ten years of dispute and law suits, it has been agreed not to carry out further reclamation within Victoria Harbour. But if we look at the map, other than Victoria Harbour, coastal country parks, marine parks and areas of high ecological value, there are still many potential sites for reclamation in Hong Kong.
Moreover, reclamation is an effective way to handle public fill materials and reduce carbon emissions caused by long distance traffic to deliver the fill materials to the Mainland. From 2007 to 2013, our excess fill materials were transported to Taishan. Other than the environmental impacts arising from transportation over 170 kilometers, we paid Taishan while the fill materials helped to provide more than 400 hectares of land for them. If these fill materials were used in Hong Kong to establish the land reserve, our shortage of land, housing and other problems could be relieved.
Looking back, since we effectively stopped reclamation in 2007, the problem of shortage of land has gradually appeared. Stopping reclamation is not a practical and feasible option for us. Even if there are appropriate reclamation sites and readily available fill materials, it will take us several years to conduct detailed technical studies and design so that the actual reclamation works can proceed. Preparing before it rains and starting technical studies on potential reclamation sites as soon as possible is therefore very important for us.
Recently a number of environmental groups have expressed concerns about the selected potential reclamation sites. The Government explains in the Stage 2 Public Engagement Digest that those sites have been selected based on the selection criteria confirmed in the Stage 1 Public Engagement and as a result of broad technical assessments. Our major considerations are as follows – priority should be given to near-shore reclamation since it can easily be connected to existing road networks and developed areas; man-made shorelines distant from the existing community also to be selected if possible; and to avoid encroaching on natural shorelines and environmentally sensitive areas. Regarding the option of artificial islands, we will avoid encroaching on shorelines with ecological value in eastern and central waters and a number of infrastructure projects in western waters. In my previous blog, I emphasised our concern regarding Chinese white dolphins. The Government will conduct detailed technical studies at three potential reclamation sites in the western waters. According to the results of our long-term surveillance on the white dolphins, there are more records of appearance of the dolphins outside the potential reclamation sites in Lung Kwu Tan, Sunny Bay and Siu Ho Wan, but only a few records within the reclamation sites. If the environmental groups wish to propose other reclamation sites, they are welcome to do so. We will remain open and be pragmatic in considering other suggestions.
We hope that the public can understand the focus of the Stage 2 Public Engagement and participate actively at public forums, roving exhibitions and express their opinions through the District Councils and other forums. We can then enhance our options and achieve the necessary support to start technical studies on reclamation sites as soon as possible.
1 April, 2013
Back