Hong Kong developer will return part of wetland site to government management: report
The 11.6-hectare (28.7-acre) development site is located in Nam Sang Wai and Lut Chau, a wetland area in northwest New Territories. The former is considered ecologically important and serves as a stopover for migratory birds, while the latter is near Mai Po nature reserve.
The controversial development plan, part of the government's Northern Metropolis blueprint, aims to offer 2,521 residential homes, including 140 houses and 2,381 flats in 28 blocks. It was approved by the Town Planning Board in 2021 with conditions.
Nam Sang Wai Development proposed a 'Balanced Master Plan for Responsive Conversation' aimed at a zero net loss in wetland function and area. It said 154.4 hectares of enhanced wetland would be provided in a few years and added to the protected wetland network.
The report on the plan's environmental impacts, conducted by consultancy firm Mott MacDonald Hong Kong and released on Friday, said the developer intended to fulfil rules on the public-private partnership scheme in completing the wetland enhancement works.
'The requirements ... are that, inter alia, (i) a lump sum contribution be made to the government, and (ii) the conservation portion be surrendered to the government for management by the government,' the report read, adding that the government would be responsible for long-term conservation works.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong withdraws tenders for 2 sites to speed up Northern Metropolis development
Hong Kong authorities have withdrawn tenders for two sites in the New Territories initially earmarked for multi-storey buildings for modern industries to speed up development in the Northern Metropolis , with the government taking a bigger role. The Development Bureau said on Monday that a three-hectare site in Yuen Long would be passed to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to build a microelectronics ecosystem to promote high-value-added new industrialisation. The corporation runs an innovation park next to the site. An eight-hectare plot in Hung Shui Kiu will be included in a bureau policy study, under which the government aims to establish a company to run an industrial estate in the area. The two sites are among 30,000 hectares of land under the Northern Metropolis megaproject, a blueprint to turn the northern New Territories near the border with mainland China into an economic powerhouse and a housing hub. The bureau said it had halted the tenders to facilitate efficient implementation of more pragmatic arrangements, which could allow them to play a bigger role in promoting industrial development. 'In order to lead and effectively promote the development of industries in the Northern Metropolis, the government has to allow flexibility in the use of [land] and adopt a 'dynamic planning' approach in formulating strategies in accordance with the actual circumstances, thereby accelerating enterprise anchoring and fostering development of the area,' a bureau spokesman said.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong to build more subsidised homes in I&T hub to meet middle-class demand
Hong Kong will build more subsidised homes in its new I&T hub near the border with mainland China to cater to the increasing needs of middle-class families and align with the city's strategy to attract top talent, the housing minister has said. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin also outlined her plans to make public flats in the Northern Metropolis, where the San Tin Technopole innovation and technology (I&T) hub is located, more liveable by integrating them into nature and old villages. 'The technopole is a base camp for new productivity and industry. It is also a base camp for talent, whose requirements, income, affordability and standards for their children's education, among other things, will be higher,' she said on Wednesday last week. 'I think the proportion of subsidised sale homes would be adjusted higher to align with the area's position.' Hongkongers who fulfil asset and income requirements are able to apply for subsidised sale flats. The technopole is a flagship project in the Northern Metropolis, which aims to turn 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of land into an engine for economic growth and a housing hub with over 500,000 new flats, accommodating a population of about 2.5 million and around 650,000 jobs.
South China Morning Post
11-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
HKU, officials push back against Hongkongers' development site proposal
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and authorities have pushed back against Pok Fu Lam residents' suggestion to build an innovation hub at an alternative site, saying it would take up more green belt area and overlap partly with a planned mortuary. HKU on Friday introduced a revised proposal for building its global innovation centre mainly on a residential plot, instead of a green belt area in Pok Fu Lam as originally intended, to the Town Planning Board. But residents in the area have hit out at the university for dismissing their suggestion to build the centre at a site on Mount Davis, saying no proper consultation was conducted. Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling, who is also the board's chairwoman, said the 8.6-hectare (21.6-acre) Mount Davis site rested on a green belt area, while some parts were not suitable for development. 'Everyone is trying very hard to avoid the green belt area in Pok Fu Lam as much as possible. This site [Mount Davis] seems to be going slightly against what we have been doing,' she said. Ho said the site covered areas reserved for the relocation of Victoria Public Mortuary, which has secured construction funding from the legislature.
