The Government announced today (February 2) the Public Engagement (PE) Report and the Revised Recommended Outline Development Plan (RODP) for the land use proposal of the San Tin Technopole. At the same time, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the San Tin Technopole is available for public inspection under the EIA Ordinance beginning from today.
The Government conducted PE activities regarding the land use proposal of the San Tin Technopole from June 6 to August 5, 2023, to gauge public views on the RODP. Overall, members of the public welcome the land use proposal of the San Tin Technopole, which will be a signature project of the Northern Metropolis to support the development of Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. Taking into account the views received, the Government has refined the RODP. The Revised RODP, together with the PE Report containing the Government's response to major views, has been uploaded onto the San Tin Technopole website (nm-santintech.hk/en/) today for the public's reference.
Moreover, the Civil Engineering and Development Department has conducted the EIA according to the EIA Ordinance, the Technical Memorandum on EIA Process and the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-340/2021) for the works project for the development of the San Tin Technopole (previously named as San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node). Appropriate mitigation measures were proposed to ensure the project would comply with the EIA Ordinance requirement. The relevant EIA Report has been uploaded onto the EIA Ordinance website (www.epd.gov.hk/eia) for public inspection in accordance with the EIA Ordinance from today to March 2, 2024.
Although about 240 hectares (ha) of the proposed development area of the San Tin Technopole are located within the Wetland Conservation Area and the Wetland Buffer Area, over 60 per cent of them are already brownfield sites, filled fishponds and also include developed sites such as boundary control points. The remaining areas, close to 40 per cent of the total, are about 90ha of fishponds and nearly half of them are abandoned or inactive in fisheries production. After detailed assessment, the EIA proposed measures to mitigate potential impacts on ecology and fisheries resources, and formulated a holistic wetland compensation strategy through establishing the proposed Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park (WCP) with active conservation management, to compensate for the loss of wetland function arising from the development of the San Tin Technopole such that there will be no-net-loss in ecological function and capacity of the wetlands concerned. The proposed WCP will also enhance the overall ecological value, biodiversity and connectivity in the Deep Bay area, achieving coexistence of development and conservation. The proposed WCP will have a fisheries enhancement area; together with the establishment of the Fisheries Research Centre in the San Tin Technopole, modernised aquaculture will be promoted to enhance fisheries resources.
Located at the heart of the Northern Metropolis and in close proximity to the Shenzhen I&T Zone in Huanggang and Futian, the San Tin Technopole is strategically positioned to be a hub for clustered I&T development. It will create 300ha of I&T land that creates synergy with the Shenzhen I&T Zone, contributing to the development of the South-North dual engine (finance – I&T). The San Tin Technopole will also provide more than 50 000 residential units, becoming a new community for quality, healthy and green living.
The statutory town planning and other procedures for the San Tin Technopole development will also commence progressively this year. Members of the public can visit the website of the San Tin Technopole for the latest information of the project.
