A speech by Hong Kong’s environment secretary in which land scarcity was highlighted as an obstacle to achieving decarbonisation goals has ignited debate over a controversial proposal to create artificial islands in the high-density city. Environmental groups are opposed to the plan, which they say will come at a huge carbon cost and imperil the marine ecosystem.
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Speaking at the ReThink conference in Hong Kong on Thursday, secretary for the environment and ecology Tse Chin-wan, named “space constraints” and a lack of natural resources among the key challenges the territory faces as it works towards a 2050 net zero goal, which is a decade earlier than mainland China’s 2060 target.
A shortage of space has been a “constant challenge” throughout Hong Kong’s development history, which has made it hard to implement large-scale projects, Tse said.
However, non-government organisations argue that Hong Kong’s net zero ambitions would be affected by a plan to create a new business district and residential area on artificial islands spread over 1,000 hectares of reclaimed land. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has called for the project to be scrapped because of the threat it poses to marine mammals, corals, fisheries and the human population by expanding areas of oxygen-depleted water close to one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
The planned site of the 1,000-hectare Kau Yi Chau artificial islands [click to enlarge]. The government has said that their Y-shape configuration will minimise the impact of reclamation on water quality and ecology. Image: centralwaters.hk
First mooted in 2014, the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands – previously dubbed the Lantau Vision project – have been promoted as part of the solution to Hong Kong’s acute housing crisis and promise to provide thousands of homes and jobs.
Reclamation work was due to start next year, with completion earmarked for 2033, although the project has been delayed.
The islands are one of two major development projects in the works in the Chinese city, the other being the Northern Metropolis, which is slated to cover 30,000 hectares of land – more than a quarter of Hong Kong’s total land area – in the New Territories, Hong Kong’s rural hinterland that borders the mainland.
Speaking to Eco-Business on the sidelines of ReThink, Wander Meijer, executive director of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, a local reforestation initiative and sustainable lifestyle hub, said Hong Kong has numerous brownfield sites, particularly in the Northern Territories, that are viable alternatives to land reclamation.
“Of course, Hong Kong is space-constrained and for that reason, we have to make sure that the land we have is used optimally – rather than trying to create ‘new land’ at enormous cost,” he said. The Kau Yi Chau artificial islands have a HK$580 billion (US$74 billion) price tag.
“There are many brownfields in Hong Kong, old industrial sites which are under-used. If you pour concrete into the sea, you will use a lot of embodied carbon – which goes against the carbon reduction policy of Hong Kong,” he said.
Embodied carbon refers to the emissions during infrastructure construction rather than when the building or site is in use.
Speaking on a panel at ReThink, James Sze, a director at the engineering firm behind the artificial islands, Arup, said that “avoid” and “minimise” principles would be deployed – for instance, creating buffer zones between neighbouring islands and corals, and deploying “clever” conservation methods, such as floating artificial reefs.
Among the environmental impact measures being considered for the project are the use of construction waste to minimise the need for sand – which green groups have flagged is often sourced from environmentally-sensitive areas. Hong Kong’s construction industry generates 30 million tonnes of waste a year, which is typically shipped to the mainland for use in reclamation projects there.
Some have contended that the proposed site area for the artificial islands, near Lantau, could already be considered a brownfield site, because it is has long been used to moor ships and is an area of high human activity.
The environmental impact of the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands is being assessed by consulting firm Aecom. The results are due to be released later this year.
Sources Eco-Business spoke to at ReThink suggested that the key motivation behind the project is to sustain Hong Kong’s powerful real estate sector. The government has long generated income from auctioning off land to developers, which has enabled Hong Kong’s low-tax system and status as an international business hub.
However, a prolonged property slump has hamstrung that model. Government revenue from land in the 2023-2024 fiscal year was the lowest since the global financial crisis.
The Northern Metropolis
Meijer is more supportive of the Northern Metropolis project, because of plans to integrate nature into its design. The HK$224 billion (US$29 billion) project includes a conservation plan to safeguard the area’s biodiverse wetlands and fishponds, although WWF has voiced concern that the flagship feature, the San Tin Technopole tech district, will infringe on areas of high ecological value.
An artist’s impression of the San Tin Technopole, a technology and innovation district within the Northern Metropolis. Covering 610 hectares, completion is slated for 2031. Environmental groups worry about the impact of the development on biodiverse wetlands and fishponds. Image: Aecom
WWF, which has managed the Mai Po nature reserve in the Northern Territories for 40 years, has also called for new development areas in the Northern Metropolis to be built using “sponge city” design, with rivers and streams allowed to run through concreted areas, to avoid flash flooding and water pollution issues – which have become more intense with climate change.
“The Northern Metropolis could be a good plan, as nature will be integrated into modern living. Let’s spend our energy and money on that and not develop artificial islands, which are expensive and go against the Hong Kong government’s [net zero] policy,” said Meijer.
“The world is changing. Hong Kong is changing – with changing needs. We don’t need to continue to build more buildings to create more jobs,” he said. “In the era of climate change, it is most important we preserve nature and build nature into the development of the Northern Metropolis.” he said.
Though thousands have deserted the city amid social upheaval in the years since the 2019 protests that were followed by a crackdown on political freedoms, Hong Kong’s population stablised last year, boosted by returning residents, the government has said.
