Letters | Hong Kong doesn’t need two ‘metropolises’ to solve the housing crisis
- Readers discuss the need for the Lantau Tomorrow Vision in the face of the Northern Metropolis proposal, and the city’s immediate problem of worsening air pollution
The northern metropolis project is one of the large-scale plans Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor proposed in her last policy address and it has received a fair bit of attention in recent months. The plan covers an area of 30,000 hectares and proposes to create an innovation and technology hub as well as a residential area providing over 900,000 residential units for some 2.5 million people near the border with mainland China.
That part of Hong Kong has long been a sleepy border area with farmland and brownfield sites. It is a great waste that such a big portion of land for agricultural or industrial use is so sparsely populated. This rural land stands in stark contrast to the land nearby in Shenzhen, which is a highly concentrated residential and commercial area with numerous skyscrapers.
It is an ambitious and controversial plan, which attracted immense public opposition because it would involve massive land reclamation that could have a devastating impact on our environment.
Moreover, there is not even a concrete timeline and road map for the megaproject. Infrastructure projects in Hong Kong are notorious for their delays and cost overruns. Therefore, the Lantau Tomorrow Vision is a far from ideal response to the urgent need for housing in Hong Kong. Most importantly, the cost of the project could amount to around HK$1 trillion, an astronomical amount for taxpayers.
It is shocking that the government did not use readily available land in the past decade, but instead plans to reclaim massive areas of land from the sea to resolve the city’s chronic housing shortage.
The government has yet to articulate a population policy that demonstrates a genuine need for two “metropolises” in one city. It would be a waste of resources if either one turns out to be a white elephant.
The massive reclamation plan should be our last resort. We should not be blindly squeezing out land just to meet political ends especially if the repercussions are irreversible and long-lasting.
It is time to put a halt to the fantasy of the Lantau Tomorrow Vision.
Dragon Lo Koon-kit, Sha Tin
Air pollution remains a threat to Hongkongers’ health
Worsening air pollution can wreak havoc on our respiratory tract and lung function, and increase the chances of contracting other chronic diseases.
According to data from the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, the negative impact of air pollution led to 1.69 million doctor visits, 98,451 hospital bed days and 1,329 premature deaths in 2021, compared to 1.6 million, 93,991 and 1,268 in 2020 respectively. The result was a total economic loss of HK$15.8 billion, up from HK$15 billion in 2020.
Our government should heed this advice because nothing is more precious than our health.
Randy Lee, Ma On Shan
