Letters | Links between Hong Kong Island and Lantau needing reclamation? Been there, considered that
- Readers discuss the history of proposals for container terminals and roads on reclaimed land, how landlords can help shops attract patrons, and visitors from the mainland flocking to a prestigious local university
In addition to the retention of the natural landscape and height limits on developments in its immediate vicinity, the deed guarantees no reclamation and a prohibited anchorage area (except for authorised vessels) in waters to the south of Hong Kong Disneyland.
In the 1990s, the reclamation at Penny’s Bay for Disneyland was meant to house five container terminals. The areas marked for four of the terminals survive as the rectangular outlines around the Kau Yi Chau islands on the existing North-East Lantau outline zoning plan S/I-NEL/12. Also shown on the plan are the Penny’s Bay Highway and its connection to the North Lantau Highway, for use by container lorries, and reclamation at Yam O/Sunny Bay at one time intended for a river trade terminal.
The latter area may now see the proposed Hong Kong Island West to Hung Shui Kiu Rail Link, which passes through the Kau Yi Chau islands, running through it. The rail link accords with your correspondent’s emphasis on the “importance of transport links” and the imperative in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area “to build a rapid transport network” such that travel times among major cities in the Greater Bay Area are reduced “to one hour or less”.
Not shown on the outline zoning plan is a proposed (submarine) road from Kau Yi Chau to Hong Kong Island. In 1994, that road was intended to land on a reclaimed area off Green Island, the construction of which was expected to be “more difficult than most reclamations” in Hong Kong “because of the exceptionally thick marine deposits, strong tidal currents, and the deep water of the Sulphur Channel”.
In 2005, the government confirmed that the proposed reclamation off Green Island had been “deleted” and the relevant outline zoning plans amended accordingly. It also said that, apart from three projects under way, there would be “no more reclamation within the harbour”. For the “remaining reclamation projects”, the government “pledged to abide by” the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance and “to comply with the ‘overriding public need’ test stipulated by the Court of Final Appeal in January 2004”.
Moreover, a 2017 preliminary engineering feasibility study said that construction of the Green Island Link – now reconfigured as the “Hong Kong Island West – Northeast Lantau Link” – required temporary and possibly permanent reclamation within Victoria Harbour.
R. Coates, Sham Shui Po
Hong Kong landlords must do their bit for the city
Why are many Hongkongers keen on cross-border spending, even buying articles for daily use? A major reason is that prices on the mainland are much lower than in Hong Kong, not to mention the overall high quality of service there as well.
That rents are expensive in Hong Kong is well-known globally, and this directly causes prices to be higher than in neighbouring cities. While the Hong Kong government and small and medium-sized enterprises are striving to revive the market, landlords should not stand aloof. Otherwise, we will have a tide of shops shutting down that would end up causing losses for landlords too.
Among the actions the landlords can take, cutting rent would undoubtedly be the most effective and help people from all walks of life. The lower the cost our shops bear, the higher Hong Kong’s competitiveness will be.
Angus S.K. Chan, Ma On Shan
HKU students must be more tolerant of tourists
But that is not the case with University of Hong Kong students. Many of them are annoyed with the visitors from the mainland thronging their academic territory and disrupting their life of learning.
Due to the university being featured on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like platform on the mainland, and its high global ranking, many mainlanders have started making pilgrimages there. They are happy to wait for photo-ops, and some even barge into lecture rooms. Perhaps some of them would like to study or send their children there.
It is true that bursting into lecture rooms without permission is not good; perhaps visitors could politely ask for permission first. If people are respectful of each other, the world would be a more peaceful place.
For my part, I think both sides should be more accommodating, and HKU students should be more tolerant. Those you tussle with are tourists today. Who knows if they will be your classmates in the future?
Randy Lee, Ma On Shan
