Five green groups have opposed revised plans by Hong Kong’s Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) for its 8km US$1.3bn rail tunnel and viaduct between Sheung Shui and Lok Ma Chau, close to the boundary with mainland China.
The outfits, which include Friends of the Earth, the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong, the Conservancy Association and Green Power, said the new proposals do not adequately compensate for the 9.5ha of wetlands that would be lost. KCRC has proposed increasing stocks in fish ponds and managing water levels.
The dispute is the latest to affect the scheme which was revised to include a 4.3km long bored tunnel after the Hong Kong government’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said the proposed viaduct would destroy the ecologically sensitive Long Valley. KCRC lost the subsequent court case when it tried to overturn the EPD’s decision.
Dr Ng Cho-nam, president of the Conservancy Association. said: “We are not trying to block the project. But it really has great implications for the future development of the wetland areas near the border.”
The EPD is expected to give a decision in March whether the KCRC has to take further mitigation measures before it allows the project to proceed.
For an overview of Hong Kong’s transport network see p32.
