SCMP - Hong KongToday, 3:12 AM
The expected high volume of visitors using the future 150-hectare man-made border-control island for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge could cause unique congestion problems, Islands District councillors said yesterday.
According to the government's feasibility study, the commercial use of the island will occupy between 300,000 and 500,000 square metres and include malls and hotels.
With a large flow of incoming visitors from Macau and the western Pearl River Delta expected to pass through, the study said six industries - tourism, retail, creative industries, logistics, conventions and exhibitions, and business and professional services - should be developed on the site east of Lantau Island.
This could generate issues for car parking, which should take future growth into consideration, councillors said.
The study said the malls should help alleviate the congestion at tourist hotspots in the city centre and blend with existing facilities at the AsiaWorld-Expo, next to Hong Kong International Airport, and the future expansion of Tung Chung new town.
In May, the Airport Authority said tendering for phase one of the city's largest shopping complex, to be built next to Terminal 2, would start later this year. The project consists of a hotel and retail centre with almost 200,000 square metres of floor space over five hectares of land.
At a special meeting of the Islands District Council yesterday, many councillors brought up the parking issue.
While the exact number of parking spaces is yet to be decided, an underground car park is planned for inbound private cars.
Councillor Chau Chuen-heung from Tung Chung South constituency said it was "better safe than sorry" to add additional spaces, citing the early saturation of the airport's capacity.
David Lo Kwok-chung, chief engineer of the Civil Engineering and Development Department, said the number of parking spaces would be in line with the existing standard ratio. The government is also in discussion with the MTR Corporation as well as the Airport Authority on whether to extend the rail network to connect to the island.
But councillor Andy Lo Kwong-shing said the standard ratio would not provide enough parking spaces for inbound visitors if the government is to encourage visitors to park their cars on the island and use public transport to get to other parts of Hong Kong.
A representative of the Arup Group, the government-hired consultancy, said enough space would be reserved for future expansion of car parks.
The two-month community engagement on the plan will end on September 7.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1838449/congestion-worry-hong-kongs-planned-man-made
