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introduction
It has been 27 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and what do you think of when you think of Hong Kong's long-standing development difficulties? This dilemma did not take shape in a short period of time, but has accompanied Hong Kong's development throughout.
From the time the British landed in 1841, they discovered the problem - Hong Kong's land area was too small.
As with other island areas, land reclamation has become an important solution to Hong Kong's chronic development problems.
In 2018, the Hong Kong SAR Government put forward the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision", which plans to build artificial islands in Lantau Island west of the New Territories to create another "Victoria Harbour".
(Hong Kong in the old days)
1. Land reclamation has a long history, and benefits and disputes coexist
If you could turn back the clock and go back more than 100 years to Hong Kong, you would be shocked by the twisting coastline. Because the large sea area in front of us will quickly undergo great changes in the future and become a vast and prosperous land city.
Speaking of Hong Kong's land and sea changes, there is a very familiar term "land reclamation". As an island city with scarce land resources, in order to meet the needs of development, since the British landed in Hong Kong in 1841, the project of turning the sea into a mulberry field has been carried out one after another.
"Reclamation" was used at the time as "land reclamation", in which a large amount of earth and rocks were excavated to fill in the seabed and raise the land. There is no doubt that much of Hong Kong's current coastal land is derived from this.
Now the bustling Gloucester Road in Wan Chai, Central Plaza and other places used to be excellent locations for sea viewing. Since 1970, Hong Kong has carried out an unprecedented reclamation program, pushing the coastline more than 600 metres to the west.
(Panorama of Hong Kong)
Since its opening in 1842, Hong Kong has acquired 7,000 hectares of land through reclamation. By 1990, the reclamation of Kowloon Westward had brought 340 hectares of land to Hong Kong. The prime locations on both sides of Victoria Harbour have also been acquired through land reclamation.
At the same time, reclamation works from Central to Causeway Bay have been underway, and there have even been calls for Kowloon Bay to be reclaimed as well.
The move has sparked fears among the public that if the northward expansion continues, Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour will cease to exist.
In 1996, at the initiative of activists, Hong Kong enacted the Harbour Protection Ordinance, which banned reclamation works in the port of Viduria.
(Victoria Harbour)
2. Hong Kong's landmark Victoria Harbour, can the "Lantau of Tomorrow" create glory again?
It is not easy to insist on preserving a vast sea area in Hong Kong, where every inch of land is at a premium, which shows the importance of Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong. In 1841, the British Navy sailed into Hong Kong Harbour, and 10 years later, this seaport that bears witness to the colonial history was named Victoria Harbour.
Since then, Victoria Harbour has become the lifeblood of Hong Kong. Victoria Harbour is a deep-water port with excellent conditions and the Kwai Chung Terminal, one of the world's largest container shipping centres, is located in the northwest of the harbour. Many of the large-scale buildings dotted on both sides of the strait are Hong Kong landmarks, such as the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center and the Star Ferry Pier.
At night, the Victoria Harbour is brightly lit and bright as day, and Hong Kong is known as the "Pearl of the Orient", and the presence of Victoria Harbour adds to its brilliance.
(Victoria Harbour)
As the saying goes, the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and the space that can be expanded on both sides of Victoria Harbour is basically saturated, and it is difficult to plan new building clusters.
Therefore, the Hong Kong government has come up with a new plan to rebuild Victoria Harbour to the west and continue the glory of Victoria Harbour today.
In 2018, Hong Kong's Chief Executive publicly put forward the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision", according to which the Lantau development plan is huge in scale and involves huge financial investment.
Before proposing the plan, the Hong Kong government made a comprehensive assessment of the project investment and social benefits with comprehensive reference to five countries and regions in Asia with a long history of land reclamation, including Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Shenzhen and the Osaka Bay Area.
(2000 reclamation construction site of Tseung Kwan O New Town)
However, after this plan was proposed, there were also waves of skepticism in the society. Friends who are familiar with public opinion in Hong Kong know that no matter what measures the government proposes, some people will inevitably jump out to question and oppose it. This time is no exception, and even exaggerated words such as "pouring money into the sea" and "political gambling" are used.
Most people's skepticism about this is more focused on whether the investment will pay for itself, but scholars believe that the Lantau Tomorrow project is cost-effective in the long run, and it will also bring extremely considerable benefits in the future, which can fully compensate for the investment in reclamation and infrastructure.
(Hong Kong Land Reclamation)
In addition, the government also intends to reduce a single financial investment through multi-channel financing, such as issuing bonds, public-private partnerships or pre-selling development rights, etc., and openly raise start-up funds from the public, which will not only reduce the financial burden, but also mobilize the enthusiasm of the public to participate in social construction.
Another public skepticism focuses on the pursuit of the near and far, with opponents arguing that there are currently thousands of hectares of brownfield sites in the New Territories that can be reclaimed for proper planning and development, and that the government does not need to go to great lengths to reclaim land on Lantau at all.
"Brownfield" refers to former commercial land that has been abandoned and left unused, and has lost its direct use value due to poor location or potential pollution.
(New Territories Corner)
But in fact, more than half of the brownfield sites in the New Territories have been acquired by the government or have been included in development plans. The remaining 700 hectares of brownfield land are wasteland that has been scientifically assessed as difficult to develop or no longer of development value.
According to estimates, the current land price for brownfield reclamation is not much different from the cost of Lantau reclamation, because brownfield reclamation also takes into account the relocation and resettlement of personnel, as well as the time cost of publicity and mobilization. Therefore, in terms of time efficiency and development difficulty, the "Lantau Tomorrow" plan is obviously more operable.
According to the plan, after the completion of the Lantau reclamation project, more than 300,000 public and private housing units will be provided at one time, which can effectively solve the housing problem of low- and middle-income families in Hong Kong.
The project will also establish a good transportation link between the artificial islands and the new land, breaking the dilemma of inconvenient transportation in the west of the New Territories. The large amount of land acquired upon completion will also serve as an important site for many large buildings and industrial clusters.
(Hong Kong Land Reclamation)
3. The reclamation project is huge, and the completion of the artificial island can be expected in the future
According to the 2018 Hong Kong government's policy address, the total construction area of the "Lantau Tomorrow" project will reach 1,700 hectares, and the cost of the artificial island is estimated to be about 624 billion yuan, which can accommodate 1.1 million people at the same time, and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2032.
In 2022, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced the latest plan for Lantau Tomorrow, which will build 190,000-210,000 residential units on the 1,000-hectare Kau Yi Chau artificial island, which can solve the housing problem of 550,000 people.
In addition, the artificial island will provide no less than 270,000 jobs, and with excellent transportation, residents of other areas can fully achieve cross-regional work.
(Computer rendering of "Lantau Tomorrow")
The new plan also proposes the concept of a 15-minute living circle, which will connect the artificial islands, the northeastern part of Lantau Island and the west coast of Hong Kong Island in the future, connecting the "Northern Metropolis", Shenzhen and Hong Kong Island and other important economic centers.
The most conservative estimate of the project is that the related income will reach 750 billion yuan, and the economic activities after the completion of the artificial island will also bring about 200 billion yuan of added value every year, and the social benefits and economic prospects are very broad.
(Conceptual map of the use of "Lantau Tomorrow")
We believe that the Lantau Tomorrow project, if successfully completed, will be a powerful force for Hong Kong's future development.
Resources
[1] [Suggestion] The preliminary research of "Tomorrow's Big Island" is worthy of support. Hong Kong Commercial Daily.2020-12-03
[2] History, Present and Future Plans of Hong Kong Reclamation. Cathay Pacific official website.2019-04-17
[3] The history of reclamation and its social benefits in selected places. Information Research Section, Legislative Council Secretariat.2019-12-13
[4] The new plan of "Lantau Tomorrow" was released, and 210,000 residential units were built on the artificial island. Hong Kong Wenhui.2022-12-21