Owners of Hong Kong sawmill appeal for help to move operations after being told to make way for public housing
- Siblings don’t want remaining 10,000 tonnes of timber on site to go to waste or end up in landfill
- Compensation is not enough to cover costs of relocating business to another area, says family
Chi Kee Sawmill and Timber, one of the few remaining woodwork factories in Hong Kong, is making a last-ditch call for help to relocate its operations, after the owners received notice last week to move out to make way for a new development.
The clearance deadline given by the Lands Department for the 40-year-old sawmill, located in Kwu Tung, Sheung Shui, was June 30, but 72-year-old Wong Hung-kuen and his siblings have not moved because they cannot let go of the remaining 1,000 tonnes of timber on the site.
“We are not asking for much, we just wish to use our own methods to handle the timber instead of dumping it in the landfill,” Wong told the media on Wednesday. “We want to turn these materials into wooden products. Timber should not be wasted like that.”
Staff from the Lands Department had approached Wong and offered to help handle the remaining wood, he said, but he disapproved of their method.
“They said they could use grinders to turn the timber into fertiliser for agricultural purposes. It is not feasible because much of the woodstock we have, taken from cable poles for example, is painted with a toxic coating. It could not be used for agriculture,” Wong added.
Chi Kee Sawmill and Timber moved to the current Kwu Tung Ma Cho Lung site in 1982. The 10,000 sq ft site is owned by Wong and his siblings.
