Military dock: lawful actions with openness and transparency
The dock has only four small buildings, which are single-storey structures of about 4m high.
What you see in the military dock now will be the form of the dock site to be handed over to the Garrison in future.
In “My Blog” last week, I mentioned the creation of our beautiful harbourfront together with the community, and our achievements in harbourfront enhancement through discussions with the community and different stakeholders under an open and transparent process in the past decade or so. Through the former Harbour-front Enhancement Committee and later the Harbourfront Commission, we have collaborated with individuals from professional institutions, civic and environmental groups, business and other sectors to enhance our harbourfront. Looking ahead, we will keep moving in this direction to engage the public in our work.
Recently some groups claimed that the community would no longer be able to enjoy the harbourfront after zoning part of the new Central harbourfront for the military dock. Unjust accusations were made by some quarters, e.g. saying that large structures would be erected on the military dock, alleging that the Government had never mentioned those structures in previous papers and meetings of the Central and Western District Council and had jumped the gun in the construction work, etc.
The Planning Department has made thorough responses to the media’s enquiries over the past few days. Unfortunately some groups disregarded the facts and information provided and kept making unsubstantiated accusations. I hope to take this opportunity to cast away the public misconception by setting out the background of the issue below.
(1) Obligation to implement the Defence Land Agreement
The provision of a military dock in the new Central harbourfront is in accordance with the 1994 Exchange of Notes between the United Kingdom Government and the People's Republic of China Government on the Arrangements for the Future Use of the Military Sites in Hong Kong (the Defence Land Agreement, or DLA), which stated, among other points, that 150 metres of the eventual permanent waterfront in the plans for the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation would be left free at a place close to the Central Barracks for the construction of a military dock after 1997. There is an obligation for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to implement the military dock in accordance with the DLA.
(2) Unreasonable accusation of “ceding territory”
As with other military sites, no land grant document is required between the HKSAR Government and the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison. According to the Garrison Law, controlling military facilities is one of the defence functions and responsibilities of the Hong Kong Garrison. The military dock will be handed over to the Garrison after completion of the construction works. The Garrison has also undertaken to open the area of the military dock site to the public as part of the waterfront promenade for enjoyment when it is not in military use.
(3) Open information on the provision of dock facilities
(3.1) The funding application submitted by the Government to the Public Works Subcommittee of the Legislative Council (LegCo) for implementing the works of Central Reclamation Phase III in 2002 stated that the scope of works would include the construction of a berth of 150m and associated facilities for use by the Garrison.
(3.2) During the public engagement activities of the Urban Design Study for the New Central Harbourfront in 2008 and in its final report, the Government had made known to the public the location and the area of the military dock.
(3.3) When briefing the Central and Western District Council and the Harbourfront Commission in 2010, the Government indicated that there would be small buildings like changing rooms, office space and electricity supply facilities, etc, inside the military dock, and the military dock would be segregated from its surroundings mainly by electronic folding gates. These folding gates would be hidden in the ancillary buildings when not in use to avoid visual obstruction of the harbour and the promenade.
(4) Procedural fairness duly followed
The Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan (OZP), which clearly indicated the location of the military dock, was approved in 2000 after extensive consultation. As the form that the dock would take and the area that it would occupy were not decided at that time, it was represented by a straight line annotated “Military Berth (subject to detailed design)” on the OZP.
From the above, it is clear that the Government has duly followed the planning procedures from conceptual design to implementation of the new Central harbourfront in the past decade or so, and made known to the public the location of, and the facilities in, the military dock throughout an open and transparent process. The public and various stakeholders have all along been kept abreast of it. The Government has also actively briefed and made detailed responses to questions raised in LegCo, the District Council and the Harbourfront Commission. The current arrangement is an outcome of collective wisdom.
(5) Existing structures to be handed over
The construction works of the military dock have come to the final stage. The existing ground level of the military dock is 4.2m above Principal Datum. Unlike passenger or cargo terminals built with massive structures, the dock has only four small buildings, which are single-storey structures of about 4m high and without any large mechanical facilities. Hence, what you see in the military dock now will be the form of the dock site to be handed over to the Garrison in future.
(6) Arrangements with mutual respect and reason
As early as 2000, the Garrison has, on the request of the HKSAR Government, confirmed that it would, having regard to its operation and need for protecting the military dock, open the area of the military dock site to the public as a part of the promenade when it is not in military use. The paper that we submitted to LegCo in seeking funding approval for the works of Central Reclamation Phase III had also clearly stated that the Garrison agreed in principle to our planning intention, i.e. to open the area of the military dock to the public when it is not in military use. The above commitment was reiterated when the then Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands responded to a LegCo question raised in 2007.
(7) Confusion due to misconception
(7.1) Some quarters considered that the current amendments to the OZP made by the Government had not followed the practice of other OZPs by including “uses that area always permitted” and “uses that may be permitted with or without condition on application to the Town Planning Board” in the respective columns of the Notes to the OZP, and claimed that there would be no restriction on the land use in the military dock site. In fact, the amendment that we made was to specify clearly in “Column 1” (i.e. uses that area always permitted) that the use should be “as specified on the plan” and such an arrangement was relatively more stringent.
(7.2) Some alleged that “Pier” belonged to the “Column 2” use of the Note, and that commencing the construction work prior to the approval of the Town Planning Board had jumped the gun. We would like to point out that the military dock is a marine-related facility co-ordinated and implemented by the Government, and the works are always permitted on land falling within the boundaries of the OZP and do not require separate approval from the Town Planning Board. The accusation of the construction works jumping the gun is unsubstantiated.
We accept and welcome public scrutiny of our work, and will continue to brief the public and explain the subject matter in a sincere and open manner. We hope the critics could respect facts and not make unfounded accusations with no legal basis.
21 April, 2013
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