Wu Chi-wai Hits Out At Lantau Tomorrow Project

The chairman of the Democratic Party, Wu Chi-wai, is calling for further public consultation on the government's plan to reclaim land in the waters east of Lantau. Details of the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project were unveiled by the Development Bureau last week and, with an estimated cost of HK$624 billion, it's Hong Kong's most expensive to date.

Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, Mr Wu also questioned whether the project would even reach its goal of alleviating the housing shortage.

"First of all, we believe 'distant water cannot put out a nearby fire', the project will only be able to provide developable land for housing in 15, or even 20 years," he said.

"To the anger and dismay of many current residents of subdivided flats, the government has foregone many short-term options of alleviating the acute shortage of land, such as reclaiming golf course, farmlands and brownfield sites."

Wu accused the administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam of abusing government procedure in order to reclaim more land at a later date.

"The Lantau Tomorrow Vision project itself is the outcome of a breach of procedural justice," he said.

"Carrie Lam proposed this project before the Task Force on Land Supply even finished its public consultation. The government now claims the first phase of the Lantau project will only reclaim 1,000 hectares of land, so that it will be consistent with the results in the Opinion Survey by the Task Force. But the government has not yet revealed more details about the fate of the remaining 700 hectares of land."

Wu said once the first phase had started, it would be much harder to reject the second phase for a further 700 hectares.

Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has urged lawmakers to approve funding for studies on the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project. Writing on his blog, Matthew Cheung said artificial islands off Kau Yi Chau were the best solution for Hong Kong's housing woes.

He blamed insufficient land supply for the rise in property prices.

He also said Hong Kong had the financial capacity to carry out the huge reclamation project.

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