Lucy KwanandNg Wai Chuen

Opinion | How developing a Zhuhai island could give Hong Kong all the land it needs for housing and business

Moving the facilities on brownfields to reclaimed land west of Guishan Island would give the New Territories a facelift, while creating space for a new business district

The Kwai Tsing Container Terminals could also be relocated, leaving the harbour area ripe for redevelopment, as part of efforts to balance and revitalise all of Hong Kong

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Guishan Island could be a better source of land than large-scale reclamation, given Beijing’s support for Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area scheme as a transport and logistics hub – if we can articulate the benefits to Zhuhai. Photo: Handout

Lucy KwanandNg Wai Chuen

Published: 2:00pm, 16 Mar 2019Updated: 1:29pm, 12 Nov 2020

Most people in Hong Kong agree we lack land for housing and development, but must preserve country parks and natural reserves. The Land Supply Task Force and other non-governmental organisations have set their sights on the New Territories’ brownfield sites – former agricultural land since converted to other uses.

Brownfields provide space for port backup facilities, storage for construction equipment and materials, rural industrial workshops, recycling yards and logistics operations. These facilities, covering some 1,300 hectares of New Territories land, are necessary but there is no suitable space for them in urban areas. However, their incompatibility with their rural environment and presence as eyesores reveals a government with its head in the sand.

This inaction has caused a lag in development, especially as New Territories North could accommodate a new central business district due to its proximity to Shenzhen and the rest of the “Greater Bay Area” initiative.

The government proposes resolving Hong Kong’s land shortage through large-scale reclamation around Kau Yi Chau island, between the east of Lantau Island and the west of Hong Kong Island. However, Kau Yi Chau is located in deep waters, meaning reclamation costs will be high, while connections to more populous areas remain in question.

Instead, land from Zhuhai may be a cheaper, faster alternative, given Beijing’s support for Hong Kong’s role in the bay area scheme as a transport and logistics hub. Guishan Island could be one option if we can articulate the benefits to Zhuhai, and perhaps other partnering cities.

The 780-hectare island, situated 5km from South Lantau, is currently inhabited by about 2,000 people. Geographically, Guishan Island features deep water to the east and shallow water to the west. The deep water area could serve as a channel for shipping while the shallow area could be reclaimed to create – at a conservative estimate – 2,000 hectares of land. The potential land supply would be enough to accommodate all related port backup and logistics operations currently on brownfield sites, as well potentially hazardous installations. Building transport links to Lantau or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge should not incur formidable costs.