HK govt to explore public-private partnership for Lantau Tomorrow Vision

As the government's fiscal reserves continue to fall in company with the fight against COVID-19, the future of Lantau Tomorrow Vision, which is estimated to cost more than HK$600 billion, reemerges as a matter of concern. The Development Bureau has recently suggested the possibility of public-private partnership as a possible option to reduce the burden on public funds.

As for the pro-establishment parties, apart from the Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU), the business sector is represented by Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) and Liberal Party (LP), which have also expressed their support for the preliminary study of Lantau Tomorrow Vision. According to Lo Wai-kwok of the BPA, reclamation is the cheapest way to expand land resources, and large-scale infrastructure projects are needed to boost the economy in times of epidemic.

The Development Bureau said that from last October to this January, the government held numerous discussions with various professional groups on the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, including the Hong Kong Institutes of Architects, of Engineers, of Landscape Architects, of Planners, of Surveyors and of Urban Design.