Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn briefed Chamber members on 16 January about the Government’s preliminary proposals for the reclamation and development of 1,000 hectares of land near Kau Yi Chau. Linn was joined by Director of Civil Engineering & Development Michael Fong, Deputy Head of the Sustainable Lantau Office (Works) Raymond Ip, Director of Planning Ivan Chung and Deputy Director of Planning/Territorial Ginger Kiang.

As per the Government’s preliminary proposals, the Kau Yi Chau development project will consist of three artificial islands separated by a Y-shaped sea channel. Adopting the concept of a smart, green and resilient “15-minute neighbourhood,” the development is expected to provide a mix of up to 210,000 public and private residential flats, as well as a new “work-live-play” Central Business District with strategic transport infrastructure, at an estimated total construction cost of about HK$580 billion.

At the briefing, topics such as the extent of reclamation, broad land use concepts, transport infrastructure as well as possible financing options of the proposed major development were explained, followed by an active Q&A session. Chamber members noted the Government’s proposal to invite professional institutes to set up a platform and develop the design of the artificial islands, in order to encourage community participation in the planning process.

Eric Ma, Chairman of the Chamber’s Real Estate & Infrastructure Committee, presided over the briefing session, while Chamber Vice Chairman Douglas Woo proposed a vote of thanks. He added that the Chamber looked forward to studying and commenting on the refined proposal in due course.

Reclamation works are expected to commence at the end of 2025, with the first batch of residential development for population intake expected in 2033 at the earliest.