72조원 짜리 홍콩 인공섬 건설 놓고 '찬반 논란' VIDEO: Hong Kong still needs land reclamation, Carrie Lam insists as thousands take to streets in protest against controversial artificial island plan

Hong Kong still needs land reclamation, Carrie Lam insists as thousands take to streets in protest against controversial artificial island plan

Chief executive responds to critics who are against land supply project, and says city ‘cannot wait any more’

UPDATED : Monday, 15 October, 2018, 1:16am

Tony Cheung Ernest Kao

Lantau Island Concept Plan/ SkyscraperCity

72조원 짜리 홍콩 인공섬 건설 놓고 '찬반 논란' 도심 란타우 인공섬 조성 계획 반대 집회 열려 ‘공공연한 도적질’ 비난  72조원의 예산을 투입해 조성되는 인공섬 계획을 놓고 홍콩에서 찬반 갈등이 커지고 있다. 홍콩 사우스차이나모닝포스트(SCMP)는 지난 14일 홍콩 도심에서 인공섬 조성 계획에 반대하는 집회가 열려 경찰 추산 5800여 명의 시민이 참여했다고 15일 보도했다. 홍콩 행정 수반인 캐리 람(林鄭月娥) 행정장관은 지난 10일 홍콩 의회인 입법회에서 인공섬 조성 계획을 발표했다. 란타우섬 동쪽 지역을 간척해 1700㏊ 규모의 인공섬을 조성, 주택·상업 지구로 개발해 110만 명이 살 수 있도록 하겠다는 내용이다. 아파트 가격이 3.3㎡당 1억원을 넘을 정도로 주택난이 심해지자 대규모 토지를 개발해 주택 공급을 늘리겠다는 것이다. 하지만 인공섬 조성 비용이 5000억홍콩달러(약 72조원)에 달할 것으로 추산되면서 야당과 시민단체를 중심으로 반대 목소리가 거세다. 이들은 인공섬 조성 계획을 ‘공공연한 도적질’이라고 비난하면서 “인공섬은 환경을 파괴할 뿐 아니라, 공공 혈세를 별다른 성과를 내지 못할 사업에 쏟아붓는 결과를 낳을 것”이라고 주장하고 있다. 홍콩 정부는 정부 유보금이 1조홍콩달러(약 145조원)에 달해 자금 조달에 무리가 없으며 인공섬 내 토지를 분양하면 자금 회수가 가능하다고 반박했다. 유승호 기자 usho@hankyung.com 한국경제

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Hong Kong would still need to use reclamation even if other land supply options were also adopted, the city’s leader insisted on Sunday, as thousands protested against a controversial multibillion-dollar artificial island project.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, responding to critics’ who suggested alternatives to reclamation, said her proposed metropolis east of Lantau Island could become the city’s third central business district, after Central and Kowloon East.

The plan, rolled out in her policy address on Wednesday and titled “Lantau Tomorrow Vision”, centres on building a residential and business hub on 1,700 hectares of reclaimed land, which could house 1.1 million people.

A young protester’s concern for the environment is written all over her face. Photo: Edward Wong

A government source estimated the development could cost up to HK$500 billion (US$63.8 billion), about half of Hong Kong’s reserves.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po admitted on Sunday the artificial island would be costly, with a big chunk of the bill going to building infrastructure. But he said some of the land could be sold to developers to make up for the cost. There could also be developments on top of railway stations, which would yield some returns.

The 1,700-hectare reclamation project is dubbed the ‘Lantau Tomorrow Vision’. Photo: Dickson Lee

Chan cited the city’s healthy financial reserves of more than HK$1 trillion, and said the project would ensure a significant supply of land and better connectivity for Hong Kong. He stressed the Development Bureau had yet to confirm the cost.

That came as former Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, who sits on the government-appointed Task Force on Land Supply, revealed the body’s chairman and members were “shocked and disappointed” Lam had proposed reclaiming up to 1,700 hectares.

Protesters gather outside government headquarters. Photo: Edward Wong

He said the task force, which recently finished a public consultation exercise, had asked people about a different option – building a metropolis on 1,000 hectares of reclaimed land.

“The task force’s options included [1,000 hectares to] the east of Lantau, but not Lantau Tomorrow. This is why the task force is shocked and disappointed,” he said.

Tsang said when the group submitted its final report, it would not be able to tell Lam how her proposal had been received.

Lam’s future vision is a HK$500 billion housing development in sea

“How many people support or oppose Lantau Tomorrow? … We don’t have that [information]. We can only tell the government how many people support or oppose the East Lantau metropolis, which is different.”

Meanwhile, families, political parties, senior citizens and young people were among those marching from Causeway Bay to the government headquarters in Admiralty to protest against Lam’s proposal.

The protesters marched from Causeway Bay to government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: Edward Wong

At the march’s peak, 5,800 people took part, police said. The organiser did not provide an estimate for the turnout.

Many held up banners and placards in the shape of a “white elephant”, others described the scheme as “outright robbery”. Some called for Lam to step down.

“First, there’s the environment. Second, they are effectively raiding the public coffers,” said Lam Mei-yee, in her 30s, who brought along her three children. “You’re reclaiming all this land but no one can guarantee these flats will ever see the light of day.”

She said it would be more prudent to spend the money on areas such as health and education.

Critics of the proposal touted other options for boosting land supply including developing 1,000 hectares of farmland, or about 1,300 hectares of brownfield sites – degraded agricultural land occupied by businesses like car parks or recycling yards – in the New Territories.

A protester holds a story book to tell children about the environmental impact of reclamation. Photo: Edmond So

But the chief executive insisted the issue was not so simple.

“There are uncertainties … [development on some sites] may be stalled by opposition, while we may need to reduce the area of others,” Lam said, speaking on a TV programme earlier on Sunday.

She said the task force told her authorities “cannot wait any more” on tackling land shortages.

“They noted that … we must adopt multiple means at the same time. So I am not only adopting one, but multiple means,” Lam said, citing her plans to also include using brownfield sites.

So I am not only adopting one, but multiple means

CARRIE LAM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE

She said the government’s goal was to create a land bank to address the city’s needs.

“The suggestions that [my] land supply and reclamation plans are ‘burning up the city’s fiscal reserve’, ‘pouring money into the sea’ and ‘benefiting developers’ … are not true,” Lam said, adding it should not be “shocking” the government wanted to reclaim 1,700 hectares of land in the next 20 to 30 years.

In the policy address, Lam also proposed a “land share” scheme to invite developers to hand part of their farmland to the government to tap into a potential 1,000 hectares in the New Territories.

In exchange, developers would be allowed to increase development density and receive quicker approval for projects, but at least 60 to 70 per cent of the extra floor area would be used for affordable public housing.

Carrie Lam doubles down on her push for reclamation as the answer to a space-starved city. Photo: Edward Wong

Critics questioned if such a plan could lead to collusion between the government and developers, and whether developers owning multiple plots in an area would benefit disproportionately by sharing only a small portion of their farmland with the government.

Lam said authorities would not let that happen.

“Do you think the government would easily accept such a plan from a developer?” she said.

Citing the Land and Development Advisory Committee, a group set to be a gatekeeper for the scheme, Lam said there were checks and balances in place, such as non-official members on the body, to ensure no abuse of the system.

Nearby islands of Hong Kong viewed from Lantau Island, where a new metropolis to be reclaimed offshore has been proposed. Photo: Reuters

But the Post has found that the committee chairman and three non-official members have links to private developers or own farmland through companies.

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Lam said to address public concern, the government could “think about appointing fewer professionals and more representatives” of society to the body.

Meanwhile, police said they arrested two men after a scuffle as former lawmaker Edward Yiu Chung-yim gave a speech at a post-march rally at about 7.30pm. The incident occurred when a group of about 10 people tried to take his microphone. The people, wearing surgical masks, were said to have been denied the chance to give speeches on the stage outside the government headquarters.

A man complained of feeling ill after the scuffle and was treated in hospital. Police were investigating.

Additional reporting by Phila Siu and Danny Mok

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2168488/land-reclamation-still-needed-even-if-hong-kong-successfully

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