The government announced earlier the latest reclamation plan for "Lantau Tomorrow". Instead of two artificial islands, three islands A, B and C will be reclaimed in the north, south and west of Kau Yi Chau.
The Development Affairs Committee of the Legislative Council held a meeting today (29th) to discuss the latest plan.
Some MPs support the proposal, arguing that the plan will enable the government to take back the leading power in land development. Given the conservative economic development, the expected return is still higher than the investment cost.
However, the convener of the Executive Council, Ye Liu Shuyi of the New Democratic Party, criticized the government for ignoring inflation, slowing population growth, and geopolitical risks. Got", questioning the authority's failure to properly calculate the final cost.
Ho Chun-yin from the fishery and agriculture sector is also concerned about the impact of the artificial island project on the fishing industry, describing sea reclamation as "soaking chicken and making fish food": "Chicken and fish are delicious, but if they are not cooked properly, they will be poisoned!"
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The government has set three planning goals for the artificial island: "prosperity and diversity", "green and livable" and "forward-looking innovation".
Election Committee Lin Xiaolu supports the development of artificial islands, and believes that infrastructure projects should not be built based on the amount of income. However, he has noticed reports that the cost of land reclamation and land resumption in the New Territories is similar. He asked whether the authorities have compared the two options, which one? The cost of the program is lower?
Ning Hon-ho, Secretary of the Development Bureau, said that the cost of land reclamation per square foot is 1,600 yuan, while the compensation cost for land resumption in the New Territories is 1,500 yuan. He emphasized that the artificial island is an important investment in the future development of Hong Kong. After the completion of the artificial island, it will bring benefits to Hong Kong's economic development .
Chen Xuefeng from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong suggested that the government consider building a road connecting the artificial island and Peng Chau, so as to facilitate the residents of Peng Chau to go to the artificial island.
Ning Hanhao said that he is open to the construction of Pengzhou connecting roads, but he said that the adjacent areas of Pengzhou have ecological value, and the bureau will pay more attention to the feasibility of various developments.
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Ye Liu denounced the artificial island as expensive: so much money is only 300 hectares?
However, according to the latest government estimates, the total project cost will rise sharply by 16% to 580 billion yuan. Ye Liu Shuyi directly criticized: "The amount of money is only 300 hectares? (Government) wants to return (land) dominance? Longgutan It’s all 400 hectares, and you haven’t brought it back for a long time, but just brought out a dream city jointly concocted by engineers and planners?” She questioned that the government did not take into account inflation, material cost increases, Factors such as shortage of manpower were taken into consideration.
In addition, she also mentioned that the population growth will slow down in the future, and questioned that Hong Kong's demand for land will decrease in the future: "The population growth rate is 0.77%, which means that a woman can not give birth to a child. How many people need so much land? Although it is possible Improve the living environment, but we still encourage people to go to the Greater Bay Area! The estimation of space should be based on economic development and population growth!" Finally, she said bluntly: "You can't pretend that the years are quiet and the world is peaceful. How about starting a few years?" A beautiful dream city is a must, regardless of these factors.”
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Ho Chun-hsien: Artificial islands are like fish soaked in chicken, "easy to be poisoned"
Ho Chun-hsien said that the fishing industry will definitely oppose any unnecessary reclamation. He admits that reclamation can reduce unnecessary conflicts on the shore, but emphasizes that "the more the land is filled, the less the water area", and the oppressed people will move from land to sea.
Ning Hanhao said that the authorities will compensate the fishing industry from four aspects, "We will improve the water body, build fisherman's wharf and boat clubs, but the details will take time to deploy and discuss with the industry and parliamentarians. There are monetary compensation and fishery funds. Other waters can be considered to allow fishermen to continue their operations.”
Members are also concerned that the northern metropolitan area and the artificial island will be built at the same time, which will increase the cost of high-rise building materials and labor.
Hong Wen, the election committee member, reminded that the government needs to control the pace of construction, control the amount of raw materials used and the demand for labor when carrying out various projects, so as not to increase the cost of various projects.
The Secretary for Development, Ning Hanhao, responded that there will be a large number of public and private project arrangements in the future. In 2024, the government will go to the Legislative Council to apply for funding for engineering research. At that time, it will explain to the Legislative Council in more detail.
The Legislative Council of the Guardian Lantau Alliance petitioned the government to blindly push "Lantau Tomorrow" to be irrational Tomorrow Lantau｜The railway does not pass through Tuen Mun South Approved by the Development Bureau: Tuen Mun East Station will be reserved next year for connection to Tomorrow Lantau｜The past 5 years The price of river sand has increased by 1.5 times, the industry expects the increase to continue, and the construction cost may exceed 580 billion Lantau tomorrow