Opinion

Artificial islands project: a white elephant that’s cheaper to abort now

In fiscally challenging times, the government has delayed the Kau Yi Chau reclamation project and is considering private financing for it

Instead, the time should be used to rigorously re-examine whether the project ought to move forward at all

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The Kau Yi Chau project would create 1,000 hectares of land for 500,000 residents in the middle of the sea. Photo: Jelly Tse

Tom Yam is a Hong Kong-based management consultant with a doctorate in electrical engineering and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Published: 9:30am, 7 Mar 2024Updated: 10:23am, 7 Mar 2024

Given Hong Kong’s fiscal deficits and dwindling reserves, clearly the government cannot simultaneously implement two colossal infrastructure projects, the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands and the Northern Metropolis. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently said that the former, a controversial reclamation project off Lantau Island, would be delayed by two to three years, though he vowed it wouldn’t be abandoned.

While the government has rightly postponed the Kau Yi Chau project, it should use the delay to rigorously re-examine whether the project should move forward. A white elephant that is stillborn would cost far less than one that dies fully grown.

As the project stands, seldom has so colossal, costly and complex a scheme come with such shoddy analysis, unproven assumptions and slogan-driven publicity akin to real estate marketing. Since the government announced the initial version of the project in 2014, it has focused on a handful of numbers – the area to be reclaimed, the number of residents – plus a proposed central business district.