Policy Comments & Advocacy

1. Green Power, a local charitable green group, urges the ACE to prioritize scrutiny of the above-captioned project’s unprecedented occupation and misuse of government lands for Public Private Partnership (PPP), which forms the core of our objection.

Massive Government Land Occupation for Private Gain:

2. Only 62.8% of Nam Sang Wai (NSW) and 38.6% of Lut Chau (LC) lands are owned by project proponent under the captioned project (Section 5.4.8 & 6.2.1(d), TPB Paper No. 10248). The project takes the permission to develop the government lands, especially the Development Site, for granted and incorporates Government lands into its Development Site for residential and commercial purposes.

Misapplication of the PPP Scheme:

3. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) Scheme under the New Nature Conservation Policy (NNCP) is intended for privately owned lands (Para. 5). However, this project involves 46% government land (TPB Paper 10248, Sec. 6.2.1(a)), a direct violation of the scheme’s intent.

4. Approved PPP projects (e.g., Fung Lok Wai and Sha Lo Tung sites) required over 90% private land ownership, whereas this project inverts that ratio, misusing public assets for private developments (Para. 6-7).

Legal Controversy Over Land Use Legitimacy:

5. The EIA process should not proceed until the legality of using government lands for private residential development is clarified. Proceeding risks administrative waste and legal controversy (Para. 4).

Precedent for Exploiting Public Resources:

6. The project sets a dangerous precedent by normalizing and rationalizing the conversion of government-held ecologically sensitive lands into private developments, undermining public trust and conservation policies.

Breach of “No Net Loss” Principle in Wetland Conservation Area (WCA):

7. The Development Site lies within the WCA and Ramsar-designated LC. Developing 11.6 ha of wetlands (including government lands) causes irreversible ecological loss, violating the statutory “no net loss” principle (Para. 9).

8. The Development Site’s infrastructure (e.g., car parks, roads) is planned on ecologically valuable government wetland areas, contradicting conservation principles.

Additional Critical Impacts Stemming from Government Land Use:

9. Ecological Fragmentation: High-rise developments (3–25 storeys) on government lands will disrupt waterbird flight paths and fragment wetland habitats (Para. 13).

10. Waste and Pollution Risks: Government-owned wetlands adjacent to the site are vulnerable to illegal dumping during construction, with inadequate enforcement mechanisms (Para. 24).

11. Climate Resilience Neglect: No assessment of sea-level rise impacts on low-lying government wetlands, threatening long-term ecological viability (Para. 32).

12. Green Power urge

(a) the ACE to reject this Project to uphold the integrity of the NNCP and Ramsar Convention obligations, and safeguard public assets.

(b) The Environment and Ecology Bureau to clarify whether the captioned project is eligible to develop the government lands under PPP.

Please kindly distribute this submission to ACE members for urgent deliberation. For clarifications, contact me at 3961 0200 or Email: info@greenpower.org.hk.

Thank you for your urgent attention to this critical matter.