Government Backs Offshore LNG Terminal Proposal

The government announced on Friday that it intends to allow CLP Power and Hong Kong Electric to build a floating liquefied natural gas terminal to be built in waters near the Soko Islands, south of Lantau.

The power firms have been lobbying for government approval for years, saying they need an alternative to existing pipelines that bring in natural gas from the mainland.

Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) would be able to dock at a jetty at the new offshore terminal, and the fuel would then be sent to the Black Point Power Station and Lamma Power Station through subsea pipelines.

CLP has said the terminal would give them access to cleaner supplies of natural gas, as well as diversify their sources of gas to reduce risk and enhance its bargaining position.

The government said work on the project is scheduled to start later this year, and be completed by 2021. Those opposed to the project have two months to send in written objections.

The green group WWF-Hong Kong has raised concerns about the possible impact of the project on marine life, including Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises.

A project officer with the group, Doris Woo, said the piling work could interfere with the mammals’ use of sonar, which they depend upon for communication and socialising.

The group's head of conservation policy, Suzanne Cheung, said the Soko Islands are an important habitat for both Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises, and the terminal would be less than 100 metres away from a proposed marine park.

Last September, CLP Power said its own assessment suggests the impact on the mammals would be moderate, and could be effectively alleviated by its proposed mitigation measures.

It said it wouldn't conduct piling works from December to May, which are peak seasons of finless porpoise activity, or during night time. Construction work would also stop if any finless porpoises are sighted within 500 metres of the construction location, and there will also be mitigation measures to reduce the noise made.