Opinion | Hong Kong needs more, not less, public engagement in project planning

In today’s improved political environment where open opposition to the government is scarce, most of our lawmakers seem happy with government decisions most of the time. But if we look at how much Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho has been in the limelight lately, we get a sense that not all is fine and dandy.

Linn has been outspoken on the need to enhance speed and efficiency in administrative procedures related to increasing land supply. When challenged over the government’s ambitious plans to create three artificial islands off Lantau, Linn said time should be spent on discussing how to carry out the project successfully rather than debating whether it should be undertaken.

The government must respond to the public’s concerns about mega-projects as they have a widespread impact. In the case of the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands project, the environment isn’t the sole concern. Its cost and how that factors into other mammoth projects, such as the Northern Metropolis, make the debate over it legitimate and necessary.

Barely four months have passed since the Development Bureau said plans to build 12,000 public flats on part of the Hong Kong Golf Club’s Old Course would go ahead, and now the plan looks like it faces more delays. The Environmental Protection Department conditionally approved the government’s plans, but included a requirement that a 0.4-hectare patch of woodland be preserved, which further complicates the government’s intention to build high-density public housing blocks on the site.