Hong Kong Government Advisers Grant Conditional Approval for San Tin Technopole Environmental Impact Assessment
The government-appointed Advisory Council on the Environment has unanimously endorsed the environmental impact assessment report for the San Tin Technopole project, subject to eight conditions. The project aims to create a technology hub near the border with mainland China, but has faced objections from conservation groups.
Approval was given despite concerns raised by ten green groups regarding the accuracy of the assessment and the potential impact on fish ponds and wetlands in the area. However, council chairman Professor John Chai Yat-chiu said the advisers believed the project could strike a balance between conservation and development.
One of the key conditions requires the Civil Engineering and Development Department to submit a “habitat creation and management plan” outlining mitigation measures for filling 90 hectares of fish ponds. The plan must be submitted at least nine months before the filling process begins and will be subject to the approval of the council and director of environmental protection.
The council also required the government to file a detailed design of wildlife corridors in the area, an implementation plan for enhancing wetlands in nearby Mai Po, and an interim wetland enhancement proposal. It also made seven recommendations to the government, including exploring the feasibility of adopting green building design in San Tin.
Despite the council’s conditional approval, the final decision on whether to pass the environmental impact assessment rests with the director of environmental protection. A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said the director would review the assessment and consider comments from the public and council before making a decision.
The project will take up more than 600 hectares of land near the border, with half of the site earmarked for developing the innovation and technology industry. The rest will become a town centre with 54,000 flats, with the first residents expected to move in 2031.
The government has dismissed the green groups’ criticism of the environmental impact assessment, stressing that the contents were valid and sufficient. However, three environmental groups have expressed disappointment with the council’s conditional approval and urged it to dismiss the assessment.
The Civil Engineering and Development Department said it would only start filling the ponds in 2026-27, when it had started construction for the Sam Po Shue wetland park. The park is expected to have the first 150-hectare phase ready by 2031 and the rest by 2039.
