The government announced the estimated cost of reclamation off Lantau Island and major transport infrastructure at over $600 billion. It also said the artificial island land sale alone will bring profit, in response to the opposition's criticism of "pouring money into the sea". The artificial islands will largely ease Hong Kong's land shortage and their economic advantage must not be underestimated. But the impact on the environment must be kept minimal.

The government in the early years proposed the East Lantau Metropolis. It later developed into the more ambitious Lantau Tomorrow Vision of building artificial islands of 1,700 hectares between Lantau and Hong Kong Island. The two greatest public concerns are the enormous financial burden and possible impact of water pollution on the ecology as well as rise of sea level owing to climate change.

Obstacles in developing existing land

The 1,000-hectare metropolis is one of the items in the Task Force on Land Supply's public consultation. With support from the majority as a medium-to-long term land supply option, the government yesterday announced the cost-effectiveness assessment. The Kau Yi Chau artificial islands and infrastructure alone will cost over $250 billion. Together with works including reclamation at Sunny Bay in Lantau and Lung Kwu Tan in Tuen Mun as well as the rail and road infrastructures connecting Hong Kong Island and Lantau, the cost comes to an unprecedented $624 billion.

The $100-billion Rose Garden Core Programme projects including airport before the handover is nothing compared to this plan. The opposition keeps criticizing it as "pouring money into the sea". The government, however, cited the estimates of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors to show that the investment is worthwhile. The artificial island land sale revenue alone can be over $700 billion at the current price of $10,000 per square foot.

Critics said the government's cost estimation is conservative. The eventual cost may be over $800 billion or even a trillion. However, the government's revenue calculations are also quite conservative without including "revenues" from Lung Kwu Tan reclamation, land released from northern New Territories brownfields and the development of the third core business district.

In the development of existing land, there are obstacles in recovering land. It is not much faster and the traffic is overloaded. Even when the MTRC increases train services with the new signalling system, it is near its limit. The new rail and road infrastructures will similarly cost a lot. Moreover, it is not just housing but hospitals, homes for the aged and the like as well as business facilities all need land.

Advanced technology reduces water pollution

The artificial island project can provide 150,000 to 260,000 residential units with a core business district as well as land reserve. Experience over a century has shown that reclamation is "gainful". The government's ballpark estimate suggests that the project is financially feasible. The next step is to clear up the citizens' environmental concerns.

Even though the authorities find the Kau Yi Chau area is of relatively low ecological value, the pollution caused by reclamation, including kicking up the silt laid on the seabed, will damage the environment. Reclamation technology today is much better than in the Chek Lap Kok Airport days. The third runway uses advanced technology to prevent and solidify silt - a great improvement in reducing pollution. The cost is naturally higher but worth it. The authorities must put conservation ahead of cost.

Since the early days, reclamation has played an important role in Hong Kong's economic development. Other coastal cities like Singapore do it in a larger scale. Hong Kong needs to break the land bottleneck as a drive for the economy and livelihood. To avoid a stalemate, reclamation is a must.

½Ķ¦Û¤T¤ë¤G¤Q¤é¡m¬P®q¤é³ø¡nªÀ½×

¡]http://std.stheadline.com/¡^

Vocabulary

underestimate (v) ¡X¡X §C¦ô

minimal (adj) ¡X¡X ³Ì¤pªº

ambitious (adj) ¡X¡X ¦³³¥¤ßªº

option (n) ¡X¡X ¿ï¾Ü

Useful Terms

artificial island ¡X¡X ¤H¤u®q

sea level ¡X¡X ®ü¥­­±

signalling system ¡X¡X «H¸¹¨t²Î

ballpark estimate ¡X¡X ²Ê²¤¦ô­p

Did you know?

According to Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun, the reclamation project is expected to provide land for Hong Kong's third core business district, with about 200,000 new jobs. The artificial islands are capable of providing 150,000 to 260,000 flats, 70 per cent of which will be public housing. He added the government will seek funding approval from the Legislative Council for related studies as soon as possible.

Q&A

1. The word _____ in the first paragraph is the opposite of "natural".

2. The citizens are very concerned about the possible impact of water _____ on the ecology.

3. In the passage, the word _____ means "final".

4. _____ technology may cost more but is worth the money.

5. According to the last paragraph, _____ is necessary to keep Hong Kong growing.

1. artificial

2. pollution

3. eventual

4. Advanced

5. reclamation

Answers

½Ķ¡JGeorge

ŪªÀ½×¾Ç­^¤å