Latest news with #DevelopmentBureau
CNA
01-08-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hong Kong Harbour Protection Group Disbands Over Reclamation Law
HONG KONG: A prominent environmental group in Hong Kong said on Friday (Aug 1) it was disbanding after decades of campaigning to protect Victoria Harbour from large-scale reclamation, citing a new law that weakens oversight of such projects. The Society for Protection of the Harbour (SPH) said recent amendments to land reclamation rules had consolidated too much power in the hands of government decision-makers, violating key public law principles. Despite submitting legal advice to authorities, the group said it received no response before the bill passed in May. SPH's closure marks the latest retreat of civil society in Hong Kong since the imposition of a sweeping national security law in 2020, which has led to the arrest or exile of hundreds of democracy activists and the closure of numerous organisations. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn told the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po in June that the government had encountered 'soft resistance' a term often used to describe ideological dissent, during the law's amendment process. She cited a social media post by SPH warning that reclamation plans posed risks to the harbour. The Development Bureau on Friday acknowledged SPH's past contributions to harbourfront affairs but defended the new law, saying it had 'strengthened regulations on large-scale reclamation' in Victoria Harbour. In its farewell message, SPH said it hoped the harbourfront would eventually be declared a 'National Treasure of China' and safeguarded 'for the benefit of the present and future generations.'
South China Morning Post
30-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong weighs solutions for 2 hurdles to harbourfront accessibility plan
Hong Kong authorities are exploring opening a passageway through a gas facility and have said they will not rule out reclamation works near a private pier as a last resort to help improve access to the East Kowloon harbourfront. In a written reply to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, the Development Bureau said it would soon commence a study on improving the East Kowloon harbourfront's connectivity. But it noted that the plan could be disrupted by the presence of a gas facility in To Kwa Wan and Green Island Cement Pier in Hung Hom. The bureau said the hurdle posed by the privately owned pier, which cuts off the promenade, was 'more complex and required more time to tackle' as the site was owned by multiple parties, with the relevant leases giving them access to the sea. It added that it would start by considering non-reclamation options, such as exploring feasible 'win-win' solutions with owners so the site could be used for harbourfront development purposes. 'However, should the non-reclamation options be proven not feasible in the end, we will study the possibility of a boardwalk with small-scale reclamation,' the bureau said.
South China Morning Post
28-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Will Hong Kong government's more hands-on approach to development pay off?
News that the government has withdrawn tenders for two sites to speed up development of the Northern Metropolis comes as Hong Kong is still celebrating the anniversaries of various economic initiatives from a previous era. There could not be a better illustration of the changes in the city's approach to economic development. On Monday, the Development Bureau announced that it was withdrawing from two sites that had previously been open to private sector bidders. A three-hectare lot in Yuen Long will instead be given to the wholly government-owned Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, which already runs an innovation park on adjacent land. The site will be used to build a microelectronics industrial ecosystem. Meanwhile, an eight-hectare site in Hung Shui Kiu will be developed as an industrial estate run by a government-owned company to be established pending a bureau policy study. In both cases, the administration is clearly taking much more of a leadership role and hands-on approach. This contrasts with the philosophy prevailing immediately after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997. At that time, then financial secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen set up a Business and Services Promotion Unit as part of his own office to play a much more proactive role than the laissez-faire approach that had largely applied under British administration. The unit was created to draw up and implement programmes to help businesses – basically, cutting red tape – and to support the development of Hong Kong's service sector. Each programme had its own advisory committee comprising business leaders and academics, with support from relevant government departments. Financial secretary Donald Tsang (left) is helped by his assistants as he shows copies of Hong Kong's 2000-2001 budget to the press on March 7, 2000. Photo: Dustin Shum Tsang encouraged leading members of the private sector to put forward suggestions for strengthening and improving the economy in general as well as the operating environment in specific sectors. The unit would then study how best to improve the situation with the help of external consultants if necessary.
South China Morning Post
24-07-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong authorities dispose of 1,200 trees in aftermath of Typhoon Wipha
Hong Kong authorities have removed about 1,200 trees after Typhoon Wipha struck the city and triggered the first No 10 signal in two years, with inspections expected to wrap up by the end of the week. In a social media post on Thursday, the Development Bureau also appealed to the public to report trees that potentially posed safety hazards. 'If the public suspects that there are safety issues with trees or signs that are in danger of falling, as well as other matters that may pose a threat to public safety, please call the hotline 1823 or report through the mobile application (1823) immediately so that we can follow up as soon as possible,' it said. The bureau also shared images of workers in safety gear cutting up fallen branches with a chainsaw and inspecting drainage areas. It said that departments under its purview had immediately launched special inspections of blocked drains, slopes, trees and other potentially hazardous structures following the typhoon. Apart from removing about 1,200 trees that had fallen or were deemed 'dangerous', another 1,500 had been pruned and stabilised, the bureau said. The bureau added that the department responsible for checking trees had almost completed its work and was expected to wrap up matters by Friday.
HKFP
22-07-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Nat. sec clause in application for new scheme to convert commercial buildings into student hostels
A national security clause is included in the application guidelines of a new scheme that allows commercial buildings in Hong Kong to be converted into student hostels. The application guidelines were released on Monday, the same day as the Education Bureau and the Development Bureau announced that the Hostels in the City Scheme had started accepting applications. The new scheme has streamlined development control procedures, allowing commercial buildings to be converted into student accommodation to provide housing for local and non-local full-time students, the government said. According to the application guidelines, if any applicant 'has engaged in or is engaging' in activities which are 'likely to constitute or cause the occurrence of offences endangering national security or which would otherwise be contrary to the interest of national security,' the premises will be excluded from the scheme and the applicant will be barred from joining the scheme for the coming three years. During his policy address last year, Hong Kong leader John Lee announced the 'Study in Hong Kong' brand to attract more overseas students, especially those from ASEAN and other Belt and Road countries, to study in Hong Kong. He said that to increase the supply of student hostels, a pilot scheme would be introduced to facilitate the market to convert hotels or commercial buildings into student hostels 'on a self-financing and privately funded basis.' The government also said on Monday that applicants for Hostels in the City Scheme must ensure the premises are occupied by full-time local or non-local students of eligible post-secondary institutions. Currently, a total of 31 such institutions are listed as eligible for the scheme. Non-students, such as visiting scholars, are allowed to live in such accommodation, but the number should not exceed 10 per cent of the total residents. The applicants of the scheme must also make sure the hostels have 'effective access control,' and no part or parts of eligible student hostels, such as rooms, shall be sold off by whatever means. Shortage of student accommodation Hong Kong has seen a shortage of student accommodation as more and more mainland Chinese students are admitted to universities in the city. Real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) estimated in March 2024 that the influx of non-local post-secondary students would fuel a shortage of 22,300 bedspaces for students in Hong Kong in the next four years. Bennett Yim, director of undergraduate admissions and international student exchange at the University of Hong Kong, told local media outlets in October that HKU supported the government's plan to create the 'Study in Hong Kong' brand, but universities in the city found it difficult to accommodate overseas students. Yim said HKU would consider cooperating with private developers to build student hostels.
