Law protecting Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour to be amended: some welcome cutting red tape, others worry about abuse
- Minor waterfront projects have been held up by onerous requirements of Protection of the Harbour Ordinance
- Law protects harbour from major reclamation, but makes it hard to prove ‘public need’ for new proposals
Cycling enthusiast Martin Turner has waited a long time for the Hong Kong Island waterfront to have a biking path offering views of Victoria Harbour.
So he cheered when, in 2008, the government suggested building a boardwalk under Island East Corridor, the highway along the harbour’s northeastern shore at North Point.
Then, nothing happened. Now the boardwalk will only be completed in stages from next year.
“It’s 15 years later, and we’re still waiting,” said Turner, 61, a marketing consultant and chairman of the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance.
Describing Victoria Harbour as “the heart of Hong Kong”, he said: “If cycling is encouraged and supported, people can actually enjoy the whole harbourfront as a leisure entity.”
The boardwalk proposal has been held up because under the city’s Protection of the Harbour Ordinance (PHO), it is considered a reclamation project.
That meant studies had to be done, public consultations held, and proposals formulated to ensure it complied with the law. The project’s HK$1.7 billion (US$216.6 million) construction fee only obtained approval from the legislature two years ago.
