Society

Ruling rattles bridge project

By Andrea Deng (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-20 08:38

HONG KONG - A faulty environmental assessment could delay the construction of the Hong Kong section of the massive multi-city bridge linking it to Macao.

The verdict was handed down by Justice Joseph Fok of the Court of First Instance on Monday.

Fok ruled that the assessment failed to include a satisfactory appraisal of the environmental impact of the bridge.

The Transport and Housing Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said it would "study the judgment before deciding how to handle the procedural issues".

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However, the bureau pledged the Hong Kong section of the bridge would be completed simultaneously with parts on the mainland, despite the questions raised on Monday about the environmental assessment.

"The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Project is a cross-boundary transport infrastructure project that has very important strategic value in terms of further enhancement of the economic integration and development between Hong Kong and the mainland," said a spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau of Hong Kong.

Eva Cheng Yu-wah, secretary for the Transport and Housing Bureau, expressed her disappointment toward the questioning of the environmental impact assessment, but said she hoped the completion of the Hong Kong section would not be delayed.

The main span of the 73-billion-yuan ($11 billion) project will run nearly 30 kilometers. The project will also include two artificial islands and a 6.7-km tunnel.

The bridge is expected to shorten travel time between Hong Kong and Macao to 20 minutes, and will connect them with Zhuhai city in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province.

The judicial review followed a request by Chu Yee-wah, a 66-year-old resident of the Tung Chung area where the Hong Kong section of the bridge will be built.

Chu's counsel Philip Dykes said other drawbacks of the assessment include a false assessment of the worst environmental conditions, no measurement of ozone or sulfur dioxide, and no adoption of the latest standards.

Fok said that while those accusations may be grounded in fact, some were not required by law or were absent during the public consultation period.

Meanwhile, the bureau's secretary stressed that construction on the main bridge had already commenced, and completion is expected in 2016 together with the Zhuhai and Macao sections.

Construction of the Zhuhai and Macao sections commenced in 2009, while Hong Kong only offered a "conditional pass" to the environmental assessment at the end of 2009.

Chu appealed to the court in January 2010.

Man Chi-sum, chief executive officer of Green Power, a Hong Kong-based NGO focusing on local environmental issues, said it would be more efficient for the Environmental Protection Department to conduct the assessment again employing new standards and requirements.

However he also believed that adopting new standards would be the most thorny issue.

Lawmaker Audrey Eu Yuet-mee was concerned the verdict could have implications on other development projects in the city, especially those more prone to harm the environment, such as the incineration projects in Tuen Mun and the outlying island of Shek Kwu Chau.