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Harbour Primer
Why the fuss about
Victoria Harbour?
Victoria Harbour and Hong
Kong's Development
Impacts of Reclamation
Protection of the Harbour
Ordinance - what the law can do
However, even the law
is insufficient to protect Victoria Harbour
However, even the law is insufficient
to protect Victoria Harbour
1. Reclamation has always been proposed to meet the needs for infrastructure,
transport, open space etc. Reclamation proposals are therefore couched
in terms of being "for the welfare of the community".
2. After the land is reclaimed, the Government can later apply
to the Town Planning Board to re-zone the reclaimed land for development
and the original purposes for the reclamation can be set aside.
3. Examples of the danger of re-zoning of reclaimed land include:
(a) West Kowloon Reclamation (340 hectares) - the once promised
public park, being the main justification for a large reclamation
has been re-zoned for commercial and cultural development. Government
is now proposing to abdicate all oversight and give a single developer
30 years to do whatever it may want without any public consultation.
(b) Central Reclamation Phase I (20 hectares) - the former Central
Bus Terminal and Yaumati Ferry Concourse have been re-zoned for
commercial development and the bus terminal and ferry concourse
will be moved to the new Central Reclamation Phase III.
(c) The City Hall and Gardens and the Star Ferry Concourse -
this area was reclaimed and may be re-zoned for commercial development.
(d) Central Reclamation Phase II (Tamar) - this reclaimed area,
completed in 1994, was proposed to be re-zoned from 'Government,
Institution or Community Use' to 'Commercial Use' for the purpose
of sale to developers in 2000 and was only stopped by public pressure.
(e) North Point - a large public playground on the reclaimed
waterfront zoned as 'Open Space' on the Draft North Point Outline
Zoning Plan No. S/H8/15 was re-zoned in October 2002 for development
of government offices.
(f) Chater Garden - this reclaimed area faced the danger of being
re-zoned in 1995 to accommodate a new Legislative Council Building.
4. There is no remedy or legal recourse against such re-zoning.
The Protection of the Harbour Ordinance is ineffective to protect
the land created by reclamation.
5. Therefore, the purpose and extent of any reclamation must be
strictly controlled and limited in the first place.
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