**************************************************
The Town Planning Board has endorsed the publication of the Draft Outline Zoning Plans related to the South East Kowloon Development (SEKD) proposal to develop the ex-Kai Tak Airport site, Kowloon Bay and parts of the adjacent districts into a strategic growth area for the provision of housing, transport infrastructure, open space and other related land uses in phases.
The whole SEKD covers about 579 hectares of land, with about 280 hectares coming from the Kai Tak Airport site and the remaining 299 hectares to be developed from Kowloon Bay and Kai Tak Nullah/Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter.
"The SEKD is a very important project for Hong Kong's development in the 21st Century, transforming the previous Kai Tak Airport and the nearby Kowloon Bay areas into a comprehensively designed 'City within a City'. This proposed project is the result of careful consideration and thorough studies on engineering, economic and environment impacts and land uses," a government spokesman said today (Thursday).
"It will be one of the most important strategic growth areas within the existing urban area. By 2016, upon the completion of the whole project, the area will house about 320,000 people, with first population intake commencing 2003. A total of 123 hectares of land has been reserved for housing development," the spokesman said.
"The implementation works of the development project will create approximately 14,000 job opportunities, and more than 90,000 jobs will be created in South East Kowloon upon its full development."
"Besides, the SEKD will also boost our economy by enabling the implementation of strategic infrastructural projects that will serve the development needs of Hong Kong," he added.
He said that community facilities such as schools, clinics, recreation centres, police stations according to the planning standards to serve the designed population will be provided.
A total of about 113 hectares of land within SEKD is reserved for open space which includes a Metropolitan Park of about 50 hectares - a key feature to function as a city lung within the built up areas.
He added that it would also help offset the shortfall in open space in adjacent built-up districts such as Kwun Tong estimated to be short of 20 hectares.
On other land uses, the spokesman said that some 13 hectares of land are reserved for commercial uses, including hotels and offices while 14 hectares are reserved for industrial development.
"The development scheme would provide land for the construction of two key trunk roads and a possible railway network. Proposed trunk road T1 would link Hung Hom Bypass and the planned Central Kowloon Route to the Tate's Cairn Tunnel," he said.
"Road T2 running east-west connecting the planned Central Kowloon Route with the planned Western Coast Road from Tseung Kwan O will provide a direct route between West Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O."
"Construction of these two roads is planned to commence in 2003 for completion in 2006," added the spokesman.
Construction of the possible railway network which is planned to form the mass transit system to serve the entire South East Kowloon would be reviewed in the context of the Second Railway Development Study.
Environmental issues which have been identified in the completed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study will be addressed. Specifically, contaminated sediments at Kai Tak Nullah Approach Channel will be treated before reclamation to eliminate the odour problem and avoid the generation of methane gas in the long term; and the Kai Tak Airport north apron area polluted by jet fuel leakage will be decontaminated as part of the site preparation works.
A comprehensive hydraulic study conducted under the feasibility study for the SEKD has pointed out that the proposed scale of reclamation, to be conducted in phases, would not result in any significant adverse impact on the hydraulics and water quality of the harbour.
"On the other hand, the filling of the existing Kai Tak Nullah would be a significant improvement to the environment of East Kowloon," the spokesman stressed.
"When the reclamation is completed, the distance between the outermost middle point of the Kowloon Bay Reclamation boundary and North Point will be about 1150 metres and would be far away from the existing fairway of the central harbour."
Based on the findings of the feasibility study for the SEKD, the overall cost of public works involved, excluding those for railway works and building developments, is estimated to be around $36 billion at December 1997 prices.
South East Kowloon Development will be implemented in four development packages, namely:-
1) North Apron of Kai Tak Airport;
2) Kai Tak Nullah/Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter;
3) Kowloon Bay Reclamation Phase 1; and
4) Kowloon Bay Reclamation Phase 2.
"Decontamination and site preparation works will commence in October 1998. Main works will follow and will be implemented in stages for full completion by 2016," said the spokesman.
The Town Planning Board has endorsed a total of seven relevant Draft Outline Zoning Plans including the two new draft plans covering the SEKD. After the gazettal of the draft plans tomorrow (Friday), the relevant Provisional District Board and the Advisory Council on the Environment will be consulted on the whole project in due course.
End/Thursday, September 3, 1998
NNNN