Land reclamation in Hong Kong
The reclamation of land from the ocean has long been used in mountainous Hong Kong to expand the limited supply of usable land with a total of around 60 square kilometres of land created by 1996.[1] The first reclamations can be traced back to the early Western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD), when beaches were turned into fields for salt production. Major land reclamation projects have been conducted since the mid-19th century.[2]
Issues[edit]
Much reclamation has taken place in prime locations on the waterfront on both sides of Victoria Harbour. This has raised environmental issues of the protection of the harbour which was once the source of prosperity of Hong Kong, traffic congestion in the Central district,[10] as well as the collusion of the Hong Kong Government with the real estate developers in the territory.[11][12]
Environmental legislation[edit]
Hong Kong legislators passed the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance in 1996 in an effort to safeguard the increasingly threatened Victoria Harbour against encroaching land development.[13] In a judicial review in January 2004, the Court of Final Appeal stipulated an "overriding public need" test which the government must adhere in order to carry out reclamation at Victoria Harbour.[14]
Kai Tak Airport in the 1970s, before more reclamation work was undertaken.
