Hong Kong legislature backs research for artificial islands despite criticism
05 December, 2020
Hong Kong's Legislative Council permitted on Friday (Dec 4) engineering and infrastructure analyses for a government plan to build vast artificial islands in an effort to solve casing problems in one of the world's priciest property markets.
The program, estimated to cost at least HK$624 billion (US$80.51 billion), or near 25 % of the city's gross domestic merchandise, would be Hong Kong's priciest infrastructure project, and would cover a location about a third of Manhattan's.
The project has drawn criticism both on cost grounds and because of its possible environmental impact.
The studies, that will take 3.5 years, are worth HK$550.4 million.
Secretary for Advancement Michael Wong told lawmakers that not each of the HK$624 billion would be covered by public funds and that the federal government expected to make a living of in least HK$707 billion from land sales in the artificial islands.
The approval came swiftly after pro-democracy lawmakers, who opposed the plan in previous years, quit the legislature en masse earlier this month in protest against the ousting of four of their colleagues after Beijing granted the federal government powers to disqualify lawmakers without court scrutiny.
Activists have got said it would cause irreparable damage to marine lifestyle and other ecosystems and argued it will be a good deal cheaper for the government to obtain unused brownfield and agricultural property from private developers and investors.
Discussions on the Lantau Tomorrow Eyesight, which was first of all announced by Lam in her policy address in October 2018, had stalled, with the legislature paralysed by anti-government protests.
Last week, Lam said in her most recent policy address the reclamation job "is practicable and will bring enormous economic benefits to Hong Kong", urging the general public to check out it in an "objective and fair manner".
The original phase of the project, which spreads across 1,000 of a well planned 1,700 hectares of reclaimed terrain between your Lantau and Hong Kong Island, will establish to 260,000 housing units.
Wong said the Lantau Tomorrow Perspective aims to start reclamation work in 2027 and also have the first batch of residents to go in by 2034. It will also have a third primary business district.
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