At its ninth meeting today (November 5), the Government briefed the Lantau Development Advisory Committee (LanDAC) on the public engagement report and a work plan for the next stage of Lantau's development, as well as key study results and proposals under the "Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030".
The Secretary for Development and Chairman of LanDAC, Mr Paul Chan, said, "The LanDAC submitted its First-term Work Report, titled 'Space for All', early this year and subsequently launched a three-month public engagement (PE) exercise together with the Government to gauge public views on the major development proposals for Lantau. The result shows that the public generally supports the development plan of Lantau and agrees to the planning vision for Lantau development, namely balancing and enhancing development and conservation for Lantau, with a view to developing it into a smart and low-carbon community for living, work, business, leisure and study."
According to the PE Report, the public generally supports the four groups of development, i.e. spatial planning and land use, conservation, strategic traffic and transport infrastructure, and social development, although some may have concerns about Lantau's capacity to receive visitors and the environmental impacts and therefore have reservations about the group on the development of recreation and tourism.
Mr Chan said that some of the Lantau development projects have reached the design or construction stage. For examples, the Tung Chung New Town Extension project is undergoing the detailed design stage by phases; and the Phase 2 Stage 1 improvement works for Mui Wo and Tai O have commenced this year.
In addition, the Government will actively and continuously take forward a number of short and medium-term projects that are widely supported by the public. As some of these projects are still at the initial conceptual or preliminary planning stage, detailed feasibility studies and planning will be required to strike a balance between conservation and development. The Government will liaise with the public and stakeholders in a timely manner to better understand their views on the implementation of the projects.
As for the long-term development plan of the East Lantau Metropolis, some respondents showed concerns over the need for the project, the potential impacts on the environment and traffic and transport facilities, and the technical feasibility. On the need for the development, the Planning Department has provided further information under the study for the "Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030", covering Hong Kong's land demand for housing, the economy, community facilities and infrastructure works in the long run. The study also proposes a framework and a direction for spatial planning beyond 2030, which suggest utilising the geographical advantage of the central waters to develop the East Lantau Metropolis into Hong Kong's third Core Business District and strategic growth area for long-term economic development in order to achieve a more balanced development layout for Hong Kong as a whole, create more space for a better living environment and provide support for Hong Kong's long-term and sustainable social and economic developments beyond 2030.
Regarding the potential impacts on surrounding areas posed by the project, the Government expects to commence a strategic study on the development of artificial islands in the central waters as soon as possible to thoroughly study various factors, including the impacts on the natural environment, residents of outlying islands, marine traffic, port operations and the fishery industry; transport and traffic arrangements; land planning; and cost effectiveness. The initial feasibility of constructing artificial islands and related infrastructure will also be fully assessed.
"To respond to the public concerns about the environment and conservation raised during the PE exercise in a timely manner, we will set up a task force shortly to review and discuss with environmentalists and relevant local stakeholders those feasible conservation items that deserve implementation. In addition, we expect to conduct a study in the first quarter next year to review the transport and traffic infrastructure network and services for Lantau and evaluate Lantau's capacity to receive visitors," said Mr Chan.
He added that the blueprint for Lantau's development and conservation will take into consideration the public views collected in the PE exercise, and is expected to be announced early next year. Also, the Civil Engineering and Development Department will launch the Development and Conservation of Lantau Logo Design Competition next week to collect innovative designs to promote the concept of enhancing and balancing the development and conservation of Lantau.
The English version of the PE Report for Lantau's development and the Chinese and English versions of the Report’s executive summary have been uploaded to the LanDAC website (http://www.landac.hk/) for public perusal. The Chinese version of the PE Report will be available on the website later this month.
Ends/Saturday, November 5, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:35
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