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Following is a question by the Hon James To Kun-sun and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (October 28):
Question:
When consulting the Kowloon City District Council on the Shatin to Central Link ("SCL") project in May this year, the Government indicated that there would be a change in the location of SCL To Kwa Wan ("TKW") Station, and that it planned to use part of the land in the Kai Tak Development ("KTD") as temporary works sites for the construction of a temporary concrete plant and barging point, with the concrete plant to be built on the site of the proposed multi-purpose stadium complex. As far as I understand, the authorities concerned had never revealed during any relevant consultation exercise conducted prior to May this year that the above facilities would be constructed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) when the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") and the Government contemplated the construction of the above facilities; whether the Government has assessed if the period for public consultation on such facilities is adequate; whether MTRCL and the Government will have enough time to study and propose alternative options, when the residents in the neighbourhood raise objection to the construction of such facilities;
(b) of the stand of the Government on the proposed construction of the above temporary facilities in KTD; given that the Development Bureau ("DEVB") has originally scheduled the construction works of the multi-purpose stadium complex to commence in 2013 but the SCL project (the Sha Tin to Hung Hom section) will only be completed in 2015, whether the Government has assessed the impact of constructing the above facilities at the current sites on the works of the stadium complex and other works;
(c) regarding the impact of changing the location of TKW Station, apart from the fact that the new location of the Station "will be more favourable to public order and crowd control when large-scale events are held in the stadium complex" as indicated to me by the Government earlier, whether DEVB has assessed what other impact such a change will have on the planning of KTD; and
(d) given that both TKW Station and Kai Tak Station will be close to Prince Edward Road East after the location of TKW Station has been changed, whether the Government will expedite the study on the provision of a monorail transport link to improve the accessibility of the areas around the proposed Metro Park and consider connecting the transport link to SCL; if so, of the estimated completion time of the study?
Reply:
President,
The preliminary design of the Shatin-to-Central Link (SCL) railway has gone underway. Other than the planning of the railway scheme, we have to consider the provision of the essential temporary facilities such as works areas, concrete batching plant, barging points, etc.
The construction of the SCL tunnels and stations will inevitably produce a huge amount of excavated materials. To handle these materials in the most effective and environmental way, we have suggested that stockpiling area, concrete batching plant and barging points should be set up in the Kai Tak Development Area. With these temporary facilities, excavated materials can be stored temporarily and sorted properly for re-use. Good quality rocks which are sorted out as suitable for concrete production will be transported to the batching plant. Soils can be used for backfilling near the tunnels and stations. Those unsuitable materials will be delivered to the barging points via the shortest route and be transported by barges to the designated handling area. Such an arrangement will not only reduce the amount of construction wastes, but also minimise the possible environmental and traffic impact caused by the transportation of the excavated materials.
The setting up and operation of these temporary facilities will be properly controlled under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, such that there will not be any adverse impact on the health of nearby residents and the surroundings. Besides, the relevant government departments will coordinate the planning of the projects in the Kai Tak Development Area to ensure that their progress will not be jeopardised.
Regarding the setting up of the aforesaid facilities under the sub-questions, I would like to respond as follows:
(a) The SCL is now in its design stage. The Government and the MTRCL organised several roving exhibitions and public consultation fora in Kowloon City, To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Wai in June and July this year for collecting views of the public on different aspects of the SCL railway project, including the provision of the aforesaid temporary facilities.
The setting up of these temporary facilities will require a large piece of land. Along the alignment of the SCL, most areas have been developed with numerous buildings. Hence, we propose to set up these facilities in the Kai Tak Development Area. We will keep on reviewing the proposal and optimising the design of the facilities. We will also continue our dialogue with the District Councils and residents.
In addition, as mentioned above, the provision and operation of these facilities will be under the control of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance. The MTRCL has engaged consultants to carry out a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment for the project and will propose the necessary mitigation measures. The Environmental Impact Assessment Report will be released for public inspection and comments before its consideration by the Environmental Protection Department.
(b) For the Kai Tak Development Plan, the Government has set up an inter-departmental working group for coordinating various projects, including site formation works, roads and drainage construction, the Cruise Terminal, the Metro Park, the Multi-Purpose Stadium Complex (MPSC) and the SCL. Among these items, the works of the SCL and the MPSC have been closely coordinated. The land requirement plans for the two projects have been agreed such that the concerned area temporarily allocated to the SCL will be vacated at appropriate time for the construction works of the MPSC. Thus, the programme of the MPSC project would not be impacted by the SCL.
(c) The original alignment of the SCL To Kwa Wan section was designed in the late 1990's when the Government was conducting the Southeast Kowloon Development Feasibility Study which involved reclamation at Kai Tak to match with the development plan. The then SCL alignment at To Kwa Wan was proposed to serve the population in the planned Southeast Kowloon Development areas and the existing residents around. In end 2006, upon completing comprehensive public consultation, the Government revised the Kai Tak Development Outline Zoning Plan. In view of adopting the zero-reclamation principle, the design population in the new development zone has been drastically reduced. In this connection, we should review the alignment of the new railway accordingly.
Moreover, since the Government asked the MTRCL to proceed further with the planning and design of the SCL in March 2008, we have received many public opinions requesting changes of the alignment of the southeast Kowloon section of the SCL to serve the more densely populated districts.
We have conducted a detailed review of the railway alignment and the location of stations. The conclusions are that it is technically feasible to re-locate the To Kwa Wan Station and that major revisions to the planning and layout at Kai Tak are not necessary. As the location of the Kai Tak Station remains unchanged, there will not be any impact on the Kai Tak Development Plan. The amended railway alignment can serve both the existing and future population in the area. The railway catchment will cover the more densely populated areas in To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City, thereby offering advantages for renewal of these areas.
(d) In the approved Kai Tak Outline Zoning Plan, a rail-based environmental transportation system, including monorail, has been stipulated as a possible facility. The purpose is to reduce the traffic flow in this newly developed area. The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) expects to start a feasibility study on this issue in December 2009. The study scope will include the connection among the main facilities in the newly developed area, such as the SCL, the Metro Park, the Cruise Terminal, etc. The study will also investigate the possibility of extending this environmental transportation system to the adjacent districts, such as Kwun Tong, Kowloon City and Ma Tau Wai. Upon getting preliminary study result, the CEDD will consult the District Councils and the relevant parties as soon as possible.
Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:05
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