Concrete Analysis | Finding land for residential housing is easy, just move the Kwai Tsing terminals
Relocation of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal would open an area larger than that of the Kai Tak Development Area, the site of Hong Kong’s old airport, for residential and commercial land development
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told a Q&A session in the Legislative Council (Legco) on July 12, that reclamation projects outside Victoria Harbour are inevitable in the long run, to ease the current strain on land available in the city for residential development.
But “long run” could be years, perhaps even a decade or more. And so I am in line with the growing argument that reclamation must happen sooner, as the obvious measure to increase supply.
One suggestion already being pushed hard by civic think tanks, and which gets my vote too, is for the relocation of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal, one of the world’s busiest.
Unless a major sea reclamation project is given approval soon, however, it could take many years to build a replacement.
According to documents released by the government’s Task Force on Land Supply, Kwai Tsing currently covers a total area of 279 hectares – allowing nine terminals with 24 vessel berths. In addition, there are 100 hectares of land next to the terminal, which is considered “backup area”.
