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Tree revolution takes root

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Landscape architects, engineers, horticulturists and arborists are in hot demand as Hong Kong's grand vision of a clean, green world city gets into full swing. The 'greening' of Hong Kong began last year with a pilot scheme involving the planting of 1,000 trees and 250,000 shrubs in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.

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Under the government's 'Greening Master Plan' (GMP), the initiative is poised to enter its second phase. The 'urban woodland' is extending across Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon, and beyond Central to Sheung Wan, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay.

This new phase, starting in September, will involve the planting of another 4,200 trees and nearly a million shrubs. Scheduled for completion next year, it is by far the biggest landscaping project undertaken in Hong Kong, covering 11,300 hectares, or the equivalent of 22,000 football pitches.

From 2009 to 2011 the 'greening' will next extend across the rest of urban Kowloon, from Lam Tin to Sham Shui Po, and across all of Hong Kong Island.

In total, about 20,000 new trees and millions of plants and shrubs will create green gems of shade, colour and vitality. Hundreds of specialists and a small army of supervisors, landscapers and labourers are needed to create the facelift. Every street was being surveyed for opportunities to create 'an oasis of greenery', said Kathy Ng Tze-kwun, a senior landscape architect with the government's Civil Engineering and Development Department.

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The GMP's transformation of streetscapes is also an effective weapon in Hong Kong's battle against pollution.

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