Property developer with rights to prized wetlands in Northern Metropolis area calls for fair hearing by Hong Kong town planners

The Fu family that runs KHI Holdings Group is seeking to build 28 high-rises and 140 houses on a stretch of wetlands in Yuen Long

After the city’s leader revealed her Northern Metropolis blueprint, which encompasses the site, the stakes in the battle to win approval have risen dramatically

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The Nam Sang Wai area in Yuen Long, northern Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 12:34am, 20 Oct 2021Updated: 1:24am, 20 Oct 2021

A Hong Kong developer behind a residential project planned at an ecologically sensitive wetland has insisted no one should influence the town planning authority in vetting its scheme, even though the site lies within a conservation area outlined in the government’s Northern Metropolis blueprint.

The scenic Nam Sang Wai wetlands in Yuen Long, spanning a number of abandoned fish ponds and home to the city’s largest reed bed, is a popular site for picnicking and photography.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said the government could take over about 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of private wetlands and fish ponds, which includes Nam Sang Wai, describing the move as a “breakthrough” in land planning.

Officials have not yet indicated whether they will take back all the plots, but after Lam announced the metropolis blueprint in her policy address earlier this month, green groups have called for putting the whole area under protection.