Lantau Tomorrow Vision lights up people’s hopes
Fong Man-hung says this bold plan will enable Hong Kong to build a world-class smart city while allowing its young people to achieve inno-tech, creativity and business startup dreams
In the Global Competitiveness Report 2018, published by the World Economic Forum on Oct 16, Hong Kong ranks seventh in the world, down from sixth last year; whereas Singapore has soared to second place, thanks to its advanced infrastructure, connectivity and openness. Hong Kong and Singapore are often compared as two market economies because they have quite a few similarities between them; and their rankings are usually close. Unfortunately Hong Kong has suffered from persistent political obstruction in recent years, particularly over funding for major infrastructure development projects designed to boost economic growth and improve people’s well-being. Some projects were blocked in the Legislative Council, while some others passed only to be halted by judicial reviews that led to huge waste of public funds and serious delay.
It is often said that in a race one must keep charging ahead because everybody else does and no one will wait for you. Anyone who fails to keep up the pace will not only be left behind but also lose their competitive edge eventually. The political environment and inno-tech capabilities aside, Hong Kong is also woefully behind Singapore in terms of per capita residential space. The latter’s government-funded residential units, similar to Hong Kong’s public housing in nature, are up to 1,000 square feet in size. That is what ordinary Hong Kong residents envy the most about their Singaporean counterparts.
To build homes you must have suitable land first, but where do you find it in Hong Kong? In this regard Singapore is faced with similar difficulties as Hong Kong is — limited land supply for residential housing development — and the way for Singapore to solve this problem is reclamation in coastal waters. After decades of reclamation Singapore’s land area has grown by 50 percent. Should Hong Kong learn from Singapore’s success in creating land for residential development?
A shortage of land for housing development and soaring residential property prices that most people simply cannot afford in their lifetime are widely regarded as two of the most outstanding public issues and all terms of the SAR government invariably have listed their solution as one of the top missions over the years. In her latest Policy Address, delivered earlier this month, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor puts forward a daring proposal called Lantau Tomorrow Vision, which aims to create 1,700 hectares of land by reclamation in the waters east of Lantau Island in multiple phases to boost land reserve for residential housing development. It is estimated to be able to accommodate 260,000 to 400,000 residential units for 700,000 to 1.1 million people and create some 340,000 jobs. The public-subsidized housing to private housing unit ratio is set at 7:3 to resolve the problem of long wait for one’s turn to move into public housing units, the first step toward becoming a homeowner for those who cannot afford private housing property.
As a visionary policy proposal Lantau Tomorrow Vision reflects the current-term SAR government’s resolve and courage in overcoming difficulties and, if adopted, should be a major turning point in Hong Kong’s future development. It would not only help ease the lasting problem of housing shortage but also boost economic development. Once completed the artificial island will be the largest new town in Hong Kong and add about 4 million square meters of shopping and/or office floor space, becoming the third core business district after Central on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon East; the reclaimed land in the development concept will be home to a new transportation hub linking Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island and Tuen Mun to boost socio-economic vitality; the man-made island will also use renewable energy, high energy-efficient design, advanced recycling and waste management measures, increase the ratio of green areas, strive for a nearly zerocarbon-emission community and create a brand-new “East Lantau Metropolis” for people to live a happy life in.
The Lantau Tomorrow Vision plan is also the only way for Hong Kong to build a world-class smart city that will allow local youths to achieve inno-tech, creativity and business startup dreams; meanwhile, the government will secure another piece of land in reserve for the future and help stabilize the residential housing market as well as commercial land supply. It will offer Hong Kong further security for local residents’ well-being and competitiveness in the long run, a real blessing for future generations.
Looking at the past Hong Kong would not have been able to become what it is now without reclamation, which began more than a century ago under British rule. Most of the skyscrapers overlooking the Victoria Harbour today stand on reclaimed land; while the Sha Tin and Ma On Shan new towns are also built on reclaimed land, as is a sizable piece in Tsuen Wan. Together these places are home to several million residents today. These past successes are proof Lantau Tomorrow qualifies as a visionary plan with great potential.
As for those who are singing “fiscal prudence” all the time, they seem to have ignored the fact the HK$500 billion in estimated cost of construction in the Lantau Tomorrow plan will not be incurred at once but rather in smaller sums over several years, meaning the government will not be stretched thin financially, as the naysayers would like people to believe. Besides, the government can auction off patches of the newly created land to developers and generate additional revenue in the form of property tax from future owners.
The Lantau Tomorrow Vision plan is also the only way for Hong Kong to build a worldclass smart city...