Only 6 per cent of Hongkongers support the simultaneous development of major government projects the Northern Metropolis and the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, a recent survey has found.
Greenpeace commissioned the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) to conduct a telephone survey to gauge public perceptions of the mega reclamation plan, which involved calling 1,018 Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above at the end of March.
First proposed by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, the controversial Kau Yi Chau reclamation project, was a signature policy of his successor Carrie Lam, when it became known as Lantau Tomorrow Vision. It currently has an estimated HK$580 billion price tag, and a research group has warned that it could have “incalculable” ecological impacts.
According to the government, the plan, which would see the creation of a “work-live-play” central business district, is expected to meet part of Hong Kong’s “medium to long-term land requirement.”
The survey found that over half of respondents said they were worried that the project would be a burden on public finances. Over half also said they were not confident that the project could fulfil its promise of becoming a core business district.
Over 70 per cent of respondents said they would not move into the area after the project is completed, and 55 per cent said they thought there will be a big chance that both Lantau Tomorrow and Northern Metropolis, another large-scale development project, would fail if both projects were pursued at the same time.
The Northern Metropolis plan seeks to provide more than 900,000 homes and generate around 650,000 jobs by integrating development projects in the northern New Territories near the border with mainland China.
When asked how the government should prioritise the two projects, only 6 per cent said both should proceed at the same time, as per the administration’s current plan.
Journalism scholar Francis Lee said on Wednesday that the survey results were consistent with previous polls, and presented a clear “majority opinion” against the reclamation plan.
Public consultation
The survey also found that 98 per cent of respondents said they had not taken part in the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands public consultation that ended in March. Among them, 28 per cent said they did not know there had been a public consultation, and 23 per cent said they had not known how to take part in the consultation.
Greenpeace’s Chan Hall-sion slammed the government’s consultation arrangements, saying that while the administration organised 33 meetings to introduce the project, only one of those meetings was targeted at the public.
Chan also said that the government repeatedly emphasised that the discussion should be about how to execute the project, instead of whether the project should go ahead.
“Even the [authorities] refuted the questions raised by the society and the professionals during the three-month consultation, the finding of this polling illustrates the majority continue to show concern, disapproving the reclamation project,” said Chan.
“Although the government has been claiming the artificial island is built for the people, it actually contradicts… what people think.”
The green group urged the government to prioritise the development of brownfield sites to solve the city’s housing issue.
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