In response to a joint statement issued by a number of environmental concern groups on the sustainable development for Lantau, a Government spokesman gives the following reply today (March 3):
"The Concept Plan for Lantau aims to provide a coherent planning framework to meet a diversity of land use needs. The Government has adopted a balanced and sustainable planning approach integrating both development and conservation needs. The proposals set out in the Concept Plan will contribute positively to the development of Hong Kong, creating more employment, investment and local business opportunities. With due emphasis on nature conservation, the Concept Plan would help protect Lantau's natural environment and maintain Hong Kong's bio-diversity.
A number of Concept Plan proposals have emanated from other studies on Lantau which have undergone substantive consultation with stakeholders. The latest planning circumstances, aspirations of the local community, locational advantages and development constraints of Lantau and other relevant factors have been fully taken into account in formulating the broad land use pattern. A preliminary sustainability assessment has been conducted for the Concept Plan with due regard to various relevant sustainability principles.
We have actively engaged the different stakeholders individually and collectively in the discussion of the Concept Plan through a series of discussion meetings and public forums. We have conducted over 30 such sessions with relevant statutory and advisory bodies, community organizations, professional institutes and other relevant stakeholders. The community has enthusiastically responded to the proposals and given valuable comments and suggestions. We will carefully analyse and consolidate the public feedbacks for submission to the Lantau Development Task Force.
Proposals to be taken forward will be subject to detailed studies to establish their feasibility including the environmental acceptability. Cumulative impacts arising from relevant projects will be taken into account in the study process as required under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance.
The revised Concept Plan will be put out for public discussion. We will continue to listen to the views of the public with a view to mapping out the future development of Lantau jointly with the community.
On the issue of conservation, the need to conserve high quality natural landscape, ecological habitats and cultural heritage sites has been a priority planning consideration in formulating the Concept Plan. Conservation is one of the major themes and the Plan has set out proposals to meet such needs in Lantau. The recommendations contained in the Lantau Conservation Plan issued by six environmental groups in 1998 has been given due consideration in the preparation of the Concept Plan. In addition, some of these recommendations have already been taken up by Government, such as the designation of Tai Ho Stream as Site of Special Scientific Interest and the protection of Ngong Ping under statutory town plans. Implementation of the Lantau North (Extension) Country Park and South Lantau Marine Park are among the proposals in the Concept Plan. The Government will continue to strengthen the protection of sites of conservation value.
For the logistics park in Lantau, we invited views from the industry and interested parties on the operational characteristics and planning parameters to ensure that the park, when developed, will meet the practical needs of the industry and enhance Hong Kong's logistics competitiveness. The exercise was completed in February 2005, and we will analyse the views received. We have also commissioned a detailed feasibility study on the project.
As for Container Terminal 10 (CT 10), no decision has been made on its location at this stage. The Study on Hong Kong Port Master Plan 2020 (HKP 2020 Study) has identified two possible locations, namely Northwest Lantau and Southwest Tsing Yi. Both sites have their pros and cons. We will conduct an ecology study on the Northwest Lantau site to further assess its environmental suitability for constructing CT 10. We will further evaluate the relative merits and suitability of the two sites in light of findings of this study.
The HKP 2020 Study findings have the support of the Hong Kong Port Development Council, Logistics Development Council and Maritime Industry Council. After a briefing for the Economic Services Panel of the Legislative Council in late November 2004, the draft Executive Summary of the Study was made available for public consultation. Thereafter, the study outcome was also presented to the Town Planning Board and Advisory Council on the Environment. We have received submissions from various sectors of the community on the findings of the HKP 2020 Study. We will collate and analyse the views received, and further consult the stakeholders in formulating the programme for implementing the recommendations.
In parallel, we will update the Port Cargo Forecast to work out the optimal timing for constructing CT 10. When a decision is made on the preferred CT 10 site, detailed Environmental Impact Assessment and feasibility study will have to be conducted to fulfil the various relevant requirements. The public will be fully consulted on the proposed plan then.
The construction of an LNG Terminal in Hong Kong is a proposal of Castle Peak Power Company Limited/CLP Power. Soko Islands is one of the site options currently under consideration by the company. It is not appropriate to include the proposal in the Concept Plan."
Ends/Thursday, March 3, 2005
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