Following is a question by the Hon Tony Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (July 13):
Question:
The report of the Task Force on Land Supply, the "Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030", as well as the election manifesto of the Chief Executive have all put forward the planning principles of infrastructure-led and capacity-creating. However, many members of the public consider that, among the infrastructure projects being taken forward by the Government in various new development areas (NDAs) in the New Territories at present, the majority focus on the traffic, road and transport aspects, while little efforts are devoted to other infrastructure facilities which are needed for supporting a large population. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the sewerage and water supply projects under planning and construction for the purpose of creating capacity in various NDAs in the New Territories, and set out, by project name in a table, the following information: their latest progress, the projected population that they can serve (and whether they are sufficient to serve the population of the relevant NDAs), and the capacity reserved for expanding the development of the NDAs;
(2) whether it has reviewed if the scale of the infrastructure capacity expansion projects under planning and construction can tie in with the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) in the light of the principle of infrastructure-led, what measures the Government has put in place to expedite the development of public and private infrastructure projects (including expediting the implementation of infrastructure capacity expansion projects which are not related to traffic, road and transport) in the Northern Metropolis, so as to achieve the goal of increasing the speed and quantity of, as well as improving the efficiency in, housing construction?
Reply:
President,
The Government is proactively taking forward various New Development Area (NDA) projects and will adopt the infrastructure-led and capacity-creating planning approaches to create conditions for early supply of land for housing and economic uses.
The reply to the questions raised by the Hon Tony Tse is as follows:
(1) The information of the sewerage and water supply projects in various NDAs is set out below:
| NDA | Sewerage and water supply project |
Progress of the project | Population that can be served (Note) |
| Tung Chung New Town Extension | To construct new sewage pumping stations and associated sewerage facilities in Tung Chung New Town Extension area | Under construction (expected to be completed by phases from 2023 to 2027) | Over 184 000 |
| To construct a new salt water service reservoir near Chek Lap Kok New Village and associated water mains (will also serve the existing Tung Chung New Town) | Under construction (expected to be completed by phases from 2023 to 2027) | ||
| To construct a new fresh water service reservoir at Siu Ho Wan and associated water mains | Under construction (expected to be completed by phases from 2024 to 2027) | ||
| New sewerage, salt water and fresh water mains in the remaining phase of Tung Chung New Town Extension | At design stage | ||
| Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA | To construct a new effluent polishing plant in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA; and a new fresh water service reservoir and related water mains facilities in Tan Kwai Tsuen East (the fresh water service reservoir will also serve Yuen Long South Development) | At design stage | Over 218 000 |
| To enhance the fresh water treatment capacity of the existing Ngau Tam Mei Water Treatment Works (will also serve Yuen Long South Development) | At design stage | ||
| Yuen Long South Development | To construct a new effluent polishing plant for Yuen Long South Development; and a new fresh water service reservoir and related water mains facilities in Tan Kwai Tsuen East (the fresh water reservoir will also serve Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA) | At design stage | Over 101 000 |
| To upgrade the fresh water treatment capacity of the existing Ngau Tam Mei Water Treatment Works (will also serve Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA) | At design stage | ||
| Kwu Tung North NDA | To construct new sewage pumping stations, a fresh water service reservoir and related water mains/sewers in Kwu Tung North | Under construction (expected to be completed in 2026) |
Over 119 000 |
| To re-construct the existing Shek Wu Hui Sewage Treatment Works with a view to increasing its sewage treatment capacity, and upgrading it to be Shek Wu Hui Effluent Polishing Plant | Under construction (expected to be completed in 2034) |
600 000 (the population of the entire catchment area, including Fanling/Sheung Shui, Kwu Tung North/Fanling North NDA) |
|
| Fanling North NDA | To construct new sewage pumping stations, a fresh water service reservoir and related water mains/sewers in Fanling North | At design stage | Over 74 000 |
(2) Last year, the Government announced the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy, which proposes to provide some additional 600 hectares of development land on top of the projects commenced in the area. The studies on the additional land at San Tin/Lok Ma Chau and the Lo Wu/Man Kam To Comprehensive Development Nodes had commenced in October 2021. Studies on the development of Lau Fau Shan, Tsim Bei Tsui and Pak Nai (as the extension part of the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA) and the development of Ma Tso Lung (as the extension part of the Kwu Tung North NDA) will also commence later this year. By these studies, the Government will review the infrastructure requirements of these new development sites and properly adjust, including expansion or addition of, infrastructure to cater for the developments.
On the other hand, the Government is conducting a review on the intensification of the development scales of Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA, Kwu Tung North/Fanling North NDA and Yuen Long South Development, including further review of the capacities of relevant sewerage and water supply facilities.
The relevant government departments will take into consideration the required supporting infrastructure as a whole and work out suitable planning and engineering options.
(3) In taking forward the NDAs, the Government will carry out infrastructure works at an earlier stage as far as possible. For instance, the design capacity of the fresh water service reservoir constructed during the advance works of the Kwu Tung North NDA can already meet the water supply requirement of the remaining phase of the area. As for Yuen Long South Development, the Government also made arrangements so that the roads serving the later development phases will be constructed during the first phase development. In this way, the capacity of the transport infrastructure can be enhanced as early as possible, thus allowing the early completion of the subsequent development phases.
Upon assuming office, the new-term Government has immediately set up the Steering Committee on Land and Housing Supply chaired by the Financial Secretary. The Steering Committee is dedicated to expediting land and housing supply on all fronts in a bid to streamline procedures and enhance the co-ordination of inter-departmental work to further enhance the speed, efficiency and quantity of land creation and housing construction, and foster more diversified development. To further unleash the development potential of land in Hong Kong, the Government will fully implement the infrastructure-led and capacity-creating approaches of development. The Steering Committee will co-ordinate the construction of various facilities amongst which include transportation and Government, Institution or Community facilities, so as to ensure the timely delivery of necessary infrastructure, thus making life more convenient for the public.
Note: Sufficient to serve the planned population of the areas concerned with buffer allowed as appropriate to cope with possible fluctuation in demand.
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