Finance chief pleads for land reclamation funds

Hong Kong’s financial chief has urged the legislature to speed up the government’s funding request for land reclamation projects to tackle the city’s pressing housing problem.

The call came as the government prepares to ask the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee to grant the funds for reclamation works on the Tung Chung New Town extension project.

Writing in his official blog on Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stressed that land reclamation has long been and still is Hong Kong’s important option to increase land supply. According to official statistics, Hong Kong had created 3,000 hectares of land through reclamation between 1985 and 2000 — an annual average of 200 hectares (2 square kilometers). But, the figure had dropped significantly from 2000 to 2015 with only 690 hectares reclaimed, or just 40 hectares per year, slumping 80 percent.

“The declining number partly explains the insufficient land supply we’re facing now,” Chan said.

The city’s legislature passed the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance in 1997, aimed at limiting land reclamation in Victoria Harbour, and made reclamation between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island almost impossible.

Growing environmentalism and filibustering by opposition lawmaker have added to the problems fac- ing land reclamation.

However, past experience has shown that the development of new towns like Sha Tin, Tai Po, Ma On Shan, Tung Chung and Tseung Kwan O is proof of the city’s success in land reclamation, Chan said.

The Tung Chung New Town extension project will create 130 hectares of land, capable of accommodating 120,000 people by providing 40,800 homes, as well as commercial and infrastructure projects, without having to relocate affected residents. The construction alone will provide 40,000 jobs, Chan added.

Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung also said on Sunday Hong Kong must have long-term plans to address the land shortage problem.

He said Hong Kong has to strike a balance between development and conservation, making it a livable, attractive, world-class city.

The declining number (in land creation through land reclamation) partly explains the insufficient land supply we’re facing now.” Paul Chan Mo-po, financial secretary