HKU innovation hub must move forward, but community engagement is vital
growing tension between residents of Pok Fu Lam and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) over a planned innovation centre.
The Global Innovation Centre will provide space for teaching, conferences, offices, staff quarters, catering and support facilities, and even landscaped areas open to the public. It is envisioned as a world-class, deep-technology research facility that will focus on the interdisciplinary, blue-sky investigations giving rise to innovative solutions to global challenges. HKU says the facilities are needed to attract talent the city needs to evolve into an international innovation and technology hub as envisioned in the national five-year plan.
The sticking point has been over the centre's proposed location at a government-owned green belt along Pok Fu Lam Road. Residents have pushed back over concerns about traffic, environmental impact and a lack of consultation. The university has responded by
downsizing initial plans announced last year to preserve more than 75 per cent of the green belt and shifting to a smaller nearby residential plot.
Some residents say the centre should instead be built on nearby Mount Davis or land set aside for the uncompleted Northern Metropolis. University planners said Pok Fu Lam is a faster and cheaper option. It is also near HKU's main campus, Queen Mary Hospital and Cyberport – proximity that is needed to draw innovators.
HKU said it held four meetings with district councillors and lawmakers and another three each with a residents' group and representatives from a nearby home for the visually impaired. Two groups representing residents said HKU only spoke with them for three hours and did not seriously consider alternative sites.
The project is important and should not be delayed. Reasonable balance between the concerns of residents and planners must be found. It will require proper communication and dialogue, as well as neighbours being open and understanding about the project.
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