Opinion

How developing a Zhuhai island could give Hong Kong all the land it needs for housing and business

Moving the facilities on brownfields to reclaimed land west of Guishan Island would give the New Territories a facelift, while creating space for a new business district

The Kwai Tsing Container Terminals could also be relocated, leaving the harbour area ripe for redevelopment, as part of efforts to balance and revitalise all of Hong Kong

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Guishan Island could be a better source of land than large-scale reclamation, given Beijing’s support for Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area scheme as a transport and logistics hub – if we can articulate the benefits to Zhuhai. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:00pm, 16 Mar 2019Updated: 1:29pm, 12 Nov 2020

Most people in Hong Kong agree we lack land for housing and development, but must preserve country parks and natural reserves. The Land Supply Task Force and other non-governmental organisations have set their sights on the New Territories’ brownfield sites – former agricultural land since converted to other uses.

Brownfields provide space for port backup facilities, storage for construction equipment and materials, rural industrial workshops, recycling yards and logistics operations. These facilities, covering some 1,300 hectares of New Territories land, are necessary but there is no suitable space for them in urban areas. However, their incompatibility with their rural environment and presence as eyesores reveals a government with its head in the sand.

This inaction has caused a lag in development, especially as New Territories North could accommodate a new central business district due to its proximity to Shenzhen and the rest of the “Greater Bay Area” initiative.

The government proposes resolving Hong Kong’s land shortage through large-scale reclamation around Kau Yi Chau island, between the east of Lantau Island and the west of Hong Kong Island. However, Kau Yi Chau is located in deep waters, meaning reclamation costs will be high, while connections to more populous areas remain in question.