Delaying tactics at the legislature and blowback from green groups, meanwhile, threaten to scupper the plan. Several Chinese state-owned contractors, whose fleet of barges and bulldozers are at work across the South China Sea to expand reefs and islets into bases for the military, could be set to be awarded fat contracts for the project. In Doha, the 400-hectare man-made island Pearl-Qatar was initially estimated to cost about US$2.5 billion, and now boasts a population of about 33,000 with around 25,000 residential units. Significantly affected by the introduction of the 1997 Protection of the Harbour Ordinance the scope of the project was diminished from 32 hectares to 18 and has led to an extended delay. Now Beijing is pivoting to Hong Kong’s perennial housing woes, applying its expertise and experience gained from building an archipelago of artificial, militarized islands across the South China Sea. The report pointed to the transmission from bats to another animal and subsequently to humans as the most likely way the pandemic began. Here’s a look at the history of the project, the controversies surrounding it and whether it can – as its proponents maintain – solve the city’s housing woes once and for all. The 60 square kilometers would be reclaimed over two decades to provide space for about 280,000 homes and 700,000 Hongkongers. Hong Kong is focusing on attracting scientific talents from overseas back to the city and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yu... HKSAR.org is a non-profit, private and self-funded, commonly-created The idea to build a new town in the waters off Hong Kong Island can be traced back to the colonial period.In the 1980s, the government launched a study to look into the possibility of creating an “East Lantau Island” as a new town to be connected to Hong Kong Island through an underwater tunnel, but the idea never went forward.Around that time, tycoon Gordon Wu Ying-sheung introduced a proposal to build a container port and residential and commercial area in the same waters, but the scheme was not supported by the government.After the 1997 handover, the city’s third chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, who called the housing shortage Hong Kong’s most pressing social problem, announced in his 2014 policy address a plan to develop an East Lantau Metropolis. Questions linger as to whether the massive land reclamation scheme is really a cure-all for the world’s most expensive housing market, and political support far from guaranteed. New data published by mainland scientists shows 70 per cent drop, but Hong Kong health experts seek to reassure residents and urge them to still get jab. The proposed reclamation site is less than three nautical miles south of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, which houses the city’s airport. A signature policy of city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the HK$624 billion grand plan aims to build 1,000 hectares of artificial islands – equivalent to one-fifth of urban Kowloon – in the waters east of Lantau Island and west of Hong Kong Island, where the city’s current central business district is. Also, if the project is greenlighted despite all the odds, the artificial island will be among the largest of its kind in the South China Sea and both Hong Kong and the mainland will have to fork out hundreds of billions of yuan for reclamation as well as peripheral projects such as tunnels and bridges. In order for it to become a metropolitan city that it is today, numerous land reclamation projects were carried out to create buildable land. The Lantau scheme was revived and recommended by the task force as the key source of long-term housing supply. If the plan were to materialize, it could alter the course of Hong Kong’s economic and commercial development to prepare for 2047, the year Beijing’s pledge of a high degree of autonomy officially expires. Industry experts and academics have warned attempting to undertake two major land reclamation's in Hong Kong and Shenzhen at the same time could strain the resources of the Greater Bay Area, ultimately increasing the costs of the already multibillion-dollar projects. But perhaps the most notable land reclamation project in public memory is the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chep Lap Kok, which opened in 1998. Note that most of the urban area (shown in pink in the map below) of Hong Kong is on the reclaimed land. Observers in Hong Kong are concerned about the Guishan project’s potentially prohibitive bills and cost overruns that may drain the city’s fiscal reserves to the advantage of these SOEs. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Hong Kong Stadium Redevelopment. The Hong Kong SAR government has revealed its ambitious Lantau Tomorrow Vision plan to create a new economic hub on artificial islands in the waters around Kau Yi Chau and Hei Ling Chau. City University of Hong Kong - Phase II. The reclamation works got off … The news are written by different contributors, all of them "We all know that there are red lines, and I just want to think carefully [about] what these red lines mean for me, so that's why I'm taking a break," Chugani told HKFP. Wang Xinchun, a former chief researcher with the Hong Kong government’s Central Policy Unit who is now a senior policy analyst with Bank of China Hong Kong, told Asia Times that his sources in Beijing indicated the initial reclamation scale could be 60 square kilometers, and the new land would be leased to Hong Kong at “a reasonable, lump-sum rent.”. Hong Kong is of no exception for this course, and has often led in many of its policies. The feasibility study will take 42 months to finish, and cover environmental and technical assessments – meaning it will be completed two years after Lam’s term expires in 2022, unless she serves another. The Hong Kong Legislative Council on Friday approved an initial funding requested to kick-start a feasibility study for Lantau Tomorrow Vision, a massive land reclamation scheme aimed at creating the city’s next housing and business hub.The contentious bill was passed in the absence of the opposition camp, whose members resigned en masse last month after four of their colleagues were summarily booted from the legislature over their political stance.But the HK$550 million (US$71 million) in funding for the study is only the first step in a long process that could take more than a decade to deliver any tangible results. Urban pollution in Hong Kong has jumped sixfold in the past four years, but experts say local vehicles are more to blame than smog blown in from southern China's manufacturing belts, a … They and others were recently sanctioned by the United States for aiding the People’s Liberation Army’s “predatory expansions” in the disputed waters. Covering geo-political news and current affairs across Asia. To meet Hong Kong's desperate shortage of housing ( a problem which has never been resolved) the largest reclamation project emabarked upon since Hong Kong's foundation was commenced in Kowloon Bay by the Kai Tak Land Investment Co. , founded in 1912 by Sir Kai Ho-kai ( born as Ho Shan-kai 何栖啟 ) and property developer Au Tack ( 區德 ) The first modern use of land reclamation as a policy measure in Hong Kong occurred in 1851. Beijing has been testing the water, via pro-establishment parties in the city, for a proposal to reclaim large chunks of land in mainland waters south of Hong Kong to house people and businesses priced out of one of the world’s most expensive realty markets. Hong Kong’s population is also set to increase from 7.34 million (in 2016) to a peak of 8.22 million in 2043 . However, the reclaimed foundation settlement process is of public concern, including the continuous impact of ocean processes on its stability. To meet Hong Kong's desperate shortage of housing ( a problem which has never been resolved) the largest reclamation project emabarked upon since Hong Kong's foundation was commenced in Kowloon Bay by the Kai Tak Land Investment Co. , founded in 1912 by Sir Kai Ho-kai ( born as Ho Shan-kai 何栖啟 ) and property developer Au Tack ( 區德) . Also, if the project is greenlighted despite all the odds, the artificial island will be among the largest of its kind in the South China Sea and both Hong Kong and the mainland will have to fork out hundreds of billions of yuan for reclamation as well as peripheral projects such as tunnels and bridges. Reckoning with ever-growing waiting times for public housing as more than 270,000 applications are piling on its desk, the city’s government previously suggested a separate reclamation project in the city’s own waters. The first modern use of land reclamation as a policy measure in Hong Kong occurred in 1851. This site, like many others, uses small files called cookies to help us improve and customize your experience. The Hong Kong Airport expansion project, currently underway, involves major land reclamation works. The project to expand the two runway airport with a third was approved by the Hong Kong government in 2015 and construction on site started in 2016 with the runway expected to be operational in 2022. A witness testified at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts about how a bar gathering appeared to be a celebration before Gordan Lam Sui-wa announced his standing in the Legislative... Sweden-based dairy-free business Oatly has indicated it may seek a listing in Asia after registering its planned IPO in the US. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201802/05/P2018020500719.htm Some allege that Beijing is conspiring to grab more control from the city’s government and the business community, who may have little input during the consultation and construction of the project, which lies outside the city’s jurisdiction. It could provide up to 260,000 public and private flats, with the first batch of residents able to move in by 2034.The islands will be served by a new transport network, including 56km of roads and rail that would connect the islands to Lantau and the River Trade Terminal in Tuen Mun, providing corridors to existing business centres.It would be the city’s costliest infrastructure project ever.Lantau Tomorrow Vision will be even bigger in scale than some of the better known reclamation schemes overseas in recent years. Others raised the broader question of confidence in the city’s future.Even Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, lawmaker and a member of Lam’s de facto cabinet, asked: “We are lagging behind [mainland cities] in the Greater Bay Area in battling the pandemic and in economic recovery, and they have no black-clad [protesters] … On what basis do you think our land will remain as valuable as it’s been?”So far, it appears officials still have a long way to go in uniting all quarters behind the grand scheme, all of which will further depend on maintaining the political will to steer it through the years to come. Your email address will not be published. A part-time waitress who managed a Telegram channel that carried the personal data of 1,574 doxxing victims was jailed for three years yesterday. It is almost three times the size of Marina Bay in Singapore, where 360 hectares of reclaimed land were developed into a prime waterfront location for commercial, residential and leisure use.United Arab Emirates’ Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, an artificial archipelago built to resemble a palm tree, is 560 hectares in size, less than half as big as Lantau Tomorrow. Name * Email * Website. Kai Tak Airport Taxiway Bridge. Hong Kong marine ecologists lead ‘eco-shoreline’ project to reshape city’s seawalls and pave the way for future reclamation projects Project tests how modifying artificial shorelines boosts biodiversity – and could be template for future reclamation projects. Meanwhile Hong Kong's overall reclamation needs for its new wave of housing will dwarf our biggest reclamation project so far, the creation of the Hong Kong … These include constructing soil-cement columns using the Deep Cement Mixing (DCM) method. Happy Valley Racecourse Redevelopment. A debate is thus heating up in Hong Kong, with the opposition and many who are skeptical of Beijing’s motives mustering efforts to oppose the proposal. Hong Kong’s government is in pursuit of land reclamation … Tung has thrown his weight behind the Guishan plan via his Our Hong Kong Foundation. Opponents also say local developers may be turfed out in future land sales when Chinese firms carve up plots and Hongkongers could even be subject to political and background checks before being allowed to move into homes on the island. This includes transportation improvements such as the Hong Kong MTR Station, Airport Express Railway & Central-Wanchai Bypass, as well as public recreation space such as the Central Harbourfront Event Space, Tamar Park and the Hong Kong Observation Wheel. Hence, one of its most pressing issues today and for the future, is the lack of available land for housing and development. "It wou... Two mainland returnees were among the eight new Covid cases confirmed by the Department of Health today. Centralised Government Godown. Central Reclamation - Phase I. Rambler Channel Bridge. Land reclamation is nothing new in Asia – China, Hong Kong and Japan have been at it since the 19th century – but it has recently reached epidemic proportions. Opponents of the scheme, including former opposition lawmakers and green groups, have cited soaring costs, environmental concerns and doubts over the reclamation’s necessity as marks against the project.Greenpeace, for one, says that project would drain the public coffers within as little as seven years, at a time when fiscal reserves are already dwindling amid the Covid-19 pandemic.One alternative, as first put forward by concern group Liber Research Community, would be to instead focus on the systematic redevelopment of so-called brownfield sites in the New Territories, which are abandoned plots of agricultural or rural land used for industrial workshops.Some scientists, meanwhile, have warned the reclamation process could suffocate marine life and create smelly harbours. Hong Kong’s government sees land reclamation as one way to address its population growth while transforming the city into a smart, green and more resilient city. Hong Kong’s population is also set to increase from 7.34 million (in 2016) to a peak of 8.22 million in 2043 . Required fields are marked * Comment. By 2046, Hong Kong will need 4,800 additional hectares of land to accommodate its growing population, which is projected to peak at 8.22 million in 2043, up from 7.49 million in 2020. The city has fallen to 80th place in recent years, amid an ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent and political opposition under a draconian national security law. Octopus users in Hong Kong will soon be able to pay for public transport fares in more than 300 cities in mainland China with a new physical transit card to be launched “by the ... Hong Kong remained at the 80th position in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, the same as last year. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons But perhaps the most notable land reclamation project in public memory is the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chep Lap Kok, which opened in 1998. Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the biggest party in the camp, said they would also closely monitor the planning for the financing models to ensure fairness and transparency in tapping private capital. One hundred days have passed since Beijing imposed a catch-all national security law on Hong Kong on July 1, the 23rd anniversary of the return of the former British territory. In the meantime, the government will also have to explore financing models to fund the project.The pro-establishment lawmakers already cautioned on Friday that their vote was not necessarily a pledge of support for further funding for the project’s implementation. Man-made land or islands that are reclaimed from the sea are suitable for building airports, harbors, and industry parks for material transportation because of their broad air and land spaces. When Carrie Lam succeeded him, she appointed a land supply task force to initiate what she called a “big debate on land”, listing an array of options for tackling the land shortage. Reclamation project south of city touted to ease housing crisis, help businesses and ‘prepare city for 2047’ Beijing and Hong Kong's government want to reclaim land from the sea to quench city's thirst for land and housing. Hence, one of its most pressing issues today and for the future, is the lack of available land for housing and development. A 56-year-old woman who returned to Hong Kong from Fujian on April 6 by High Speed Rail was said to have contracted the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated with two doses... Taiwan companies received export orders from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong worth a total of 14.28 billion U.S. dollars in March, up 34.1 percent year on year, the island's ... "What we need in today's world is justice, not hegemony," he said addressing the annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a China promoted influential think tank based in Hainan via vi... A renovation work contractor was sentenced to 40-month imprisonment for hitting a man who cleared road blocks with a manhole cover.