Harbour Protection Group Supports Reclamation for Cycle Track

The Society for Protection of the Harbour will not get in a way of a government plan to reclaim harbour land to build a public cycling network in the New Territories, local news outlet RTHK reported on Nov. 1.

First open for public use in 2020, the network connects the East and West of the New Territories through 82 kilometres of cycling tracks, with plans to add 17 kilometres. The remaining 17 kilometres are set to take riders from So Kwun Wat to Tseun Wan along the coastline, with three kilometres requiring harbour reclamations in two points.

The Protection of Harbour Ordinance holds a presumption against harbour reclamation to protect special public assets and natural heritage sites. However, a Court of Final Appeal judgement ruled that reclamation projects can push through if they meet an overriding public need requirement, according to the RTHK report.

Paul Zimmerman, honorary advisor for the Society for Protection of the Harbour, was quoted as saying: “There’s a great benefit of the cycle track. It allows more people to enjoy the harbour front… the cycle will have to run over the harbour itself, there is no alternative.”

“The immediate negative impact is that it reduces the size of the harbour, but whether this will damage ecology or affect the shipping traffic, we believe there will be very little impact on it.”