Developers eye Guishan Island’s reclamation to augment Lantau plan in easing Hong Kong’s land woes in test for Greater Bay Area

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The proposal by The Hong Kong Real Property Federation (HKRPF) would reclaim 60 square kilometres of land on several islands around Guishan, and free up the equivalent of 500 hectares of land in Hong Kong for housing 800,000 residents

The plan had been submitted to city authorities, as well as the government in the Guangdong provincial city of Zhuhai, under which Guishan is administered

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The Hong Kong Real Property Federation proposes to reclaim land at Guishan Island. Photo: Handout

Lam Ka-sing

Published: 8:30am, 23 Sep 2020Updated: 8:30am, 23 Sep 2020

A guild of developers and real estate professionals have proposed to reclaim several islands lying in the sea between Lantau Island and Macau to augment the Hong Kong government’s HK$624 billion (US$80 billion) Lantau Tomorrow reclamation project for alleviating the city’s land shortage.

The proposal by the 229-member Hong Kong Real Property Federation (HKRPF), would reclaim 60 square kilometres of land on three sets of islands around Guishan, and free up the equivalent of 500 hectares of land in Hong Kong for housing 800,000 residents, according to a proposal unveiled on Monday. The plan may be handed over to city authorities, as well as the government in the Guangdong provincial city of Zhuhai, under which Guishan is administered.

The Guishan proposal, to be implemented in three phases until 2049, is the most ambitious plan to untie the Gordian knot of housing affordability in the world’s most expensive urban centre ever since Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor signed off on the Lantau Tomorrow Vision last year. Unlike the Lantau project that falls completely under Hong Kong’s jurisdiction, the Guishan plan sets a more ambitious goal by combining land under the administrative authority of Zhuhai with the needs of Hong Kong.

“By reclaiming land and allocating it in a reasonable manner, the per-capita living area will be increased by 25 to 85 per cent compared to the current situation in Hong Kong,” the HKRPF’s vice-president Victor Sung said on Monday. “A substantial improvement in living space would not lead to an increase in mortgage stress.”

A map showing the location of Guishan Island relative to Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai

If the Guishan plan comes to fruition, it would also be an example of how joint projects can be undertaken under the auspices of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) master plan, giving a boost to the ambition to develop the cluster of 11 cities in southern China – including Hong Kong and Macau – into one of the world’s most important metropolises.