From the assessments the following conclusions have been drawn:
With the assistance of Mott Connell, the MTRC has prepared an EIA for the Tung Chung Cable Car project in full compliance with the EPD Study Brief No. ESB-068/2001.
An alignment from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping is proposed that impacts the Country Park (and its future extensions) environment in the least possible manner while still allowing the safe construction of the towers to progress. The EIA report finds that provided the mitigation measures are implemented there will be no significant impacts on the construction or operation of the Cable Car Project on the Lantau North Country Park (and its future extensions) or at the termini locations at Tung Chung and Ngong Ping. In keeping with the basic tenets of the MTR’s Environmental Policy the Cable Car System has been designed to minimise environmental and ecological impacts, reduce energy requirements consumption and minimise landscape and visual impacts.
Discussions have been held with interested parties and relevant Government Departments to consider, where possible, the views and opinions on the terminal locations, the alignment, the tower form and the form of the emergency rescue trail. The feedback has been used in the assessment of the Project and has allowed design principles to be developed and avoidance of conflicts where possible and has provided a more robust assessment.
To assist in the implementation of the overarching environmental policies stated by the MTR, various recommendations have been made including that encompassed within the Nature Conservation Policy which has been derived for this Project (refer to Section 7).
Terminal Locations and Cable Car Alignment
A summary of the options considered for the alignment and termini for the project is given in Table 13.1. Alignment 7 was favoured for a variety of reasons including the protection of ecological and environmental resources. Alignment 7 was therefore used as the basis for the impact assessment. The conclusions of the individual assessments, which have been carried out in accordance with the Study Brief, are given in the following paragraphs.
Air Quality
From the assessments conducted it has been concluded that dust mitigation measures are necessary to protect sensitive receivers from the effects of fugitive dust emissions during construction of the termini. The provision of standard measure (damping of unpaved roads, speed controls on site, use of tarpaulins over stockpiles etc) will be sufficient to reduce dust levels to acceptable levels.
Noise
Not unexpectedly the construction of the termini will result in elevated noise levels. Although the use of helicopters may generate short term noise levels upon take off or landing the noise levels will still be acceptable at the closest receivers to each of the proposed touch down points sites preliminarily identified for this Project. Other construction impacts can be mitigated and will be within the acceptable noise levels, assuming standard mitigation is effected. Once operational, the noise impacts will be confined to those associated with the mechanical equipment at the angle stations, which will be mitigated to ensure compliance with the standards.
Water Quality
The cable car project is anticipated to have minimal negative impact on water quality and indeed the assessment as demonstrated that there are benefits to be accrued such as the modification of a section of the stream course at Ngong Ping (to be a showcase as part of the Theme Village) and the potential re-use of treated effluent from the Ngong Ping Sewage Treatment Works. No stream courses will be directly impacted or diverted as a result of the construction or operation of the Project.
By implementation of the mitigation measures and adherence to the practice notes and Codes of Practice for work within the Country Park and Water Gathering Grounds, the water quality impacts are deemed to be acceptable. Inspections of the work sites and the stream course as part of the routine auditing of the works would be expected to be adequate for the protection of the water resources. However in the event of spillages or accidental discharges the emergency control plan would need to be implemented and checked for effectiveness.
Water Quality objectives for Re-use of Effluent at Ngong Ping for Flushing and Irrigation have been recommended and are included in Section 5 for use on this Project.
Wastes
Waste management strategies have focussed on the minimisation of waste generation through re-use on site as far as practical. This is particularly the case for the construction of the towers within the Country Park. Other wastes arisings have been estimated and disposal routes identified. The Contractor will be required to develop a specific waste management plan for his works, which will follow the principles recommended in Section 6.
Ecology
The major impacts are considered are the loss of woodland and tall shrub habitat, potential disturbance to significant flora species and temporary disturbance to significant fauna species. Mitigation measures including compensation planting of approximately 2 hectares of woodland vegetation to compensate for the 0.25ha loss of tall shrub and woodland habitats (and approximately 2.96 total loss of habitat not including developed areas). It is considered that with appropriate construction practices (fencing off areas, restriction of construction areas, use of portable toilets etc.) are proposed. By implementation of mitigation measures and adherence to the practice notes and codes of practice for work within the Country Park, the ecological impacts are deemed to be acceptable.
Landscape and Visual Impacts
As with cable cars throughout the world the towers, cables and gondolas of the system are visible features in the landscape. By necessity cable cars are aligned on high ground spanning between hilltops and cannot be concealed. Unfortunately, this results in significant visual impacts for hillwalkers overlooking the cable car alignment. The advantage of the system proposed for Tung Chung to Ngong Ping is the small number of towers required. This greatly reduces the landscape and visual impacts and keeps the development as ‘lightweight’ as possible.
There is a net loss of vegetation to construct the towers and terminals. This can be mitigated to a large extent by reinstating the hillside vegetation upon completion. More importantly, the recommended cable car alignment has avoided areas of mature trees and important feng shui features minimising the landscape impact as far as possible.
The terminals and angle stations are the largest structures of the system. At Tung Chung the proposed site is undeveloped and used temporarily for bus parking. The terminal building would actually enhance the landscape and visual amenity of this site. At Ngong Ping, the terminal location has been selected to one side of the settlement in a relatively unobtrusive location. With sensitive design it will not detract from the special landscape character and ambience of the Buddha and Monastery.
The Nei Lak Shan Angle Station is located in a highly sensitive landscape setting and is of particular concern. To reduce the visual impact a special design treatment is recommended. To help blend this man-made feature into the natural surroundings a “chameleon” colour treatment is proposed, that is, the structure will incorporate interchangeable roof panels using tones of green and ochre to match the summer and winter changes in surrounding vegetation colour. Overall, it is considered that the proposed cable car development will be acceptable with the proposed landscape and visual mitigation.
Cultural Heritage
The cultural heritage assessment has taken account of all potential resources which could be impacted by the Project, including graves and Fung Shui elements. The assessments have been conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) and have concluded that no adverse impacts would result, and that no mitigation or monitoring is required during the construction or operation of the Project.
Risks
Various scenarios have been considered in connection with the risks associated with the proximity of the tank farm to the alignment of the Cable Car System. The scenarios include consideration of tank fire, inner bund fire, outer bund fire, ditch fire and pool fire on the sea. The individual and societal risks to cable car workers and passengers have been assessed and shown to be acceptable when compared with the Technical Memorandum of the EIAO (Annex 4).
Environmental Monitoring and Audit
Environmental monitoring and audit procedures have been identified for the specific confirmation of the mitigation and protection measures proposed with emphasis being placed on ecology and habitat protection. Routing monitoring is also recommended for confirming the mitigation measures proposed for noise and dust during the construction of the terminals.
Table 13.1
The following table summarises the findings of the Environmental Assessments undertaken for the cable car. The order presented is the order of assessment/development of the options.
|
Alignment |
Tung Chung Terminal |
Ngong Ping Terminal |
|
Alignment 1 |
Location A |
Location Z |
|
This option was rejected because of its impact on the adjacent developments. Hence, no more consideration was given to this option. |
|
|
|
Alignment 2 |
Location B |
Location Y |
|
· alignment crosses habitats and species considered to be ecologically important · cause visual impact to the housing sites in Area TC38 and TC81 and adverse visual impact to those indigenous villages in the Tung Chung valley · relatively high potential for tree felling to accommodate tower construction · detract significantly from the landscape character of the traditional village communities and natural hillside scenery · alignment will traverse across the country side on the east of the Monastery where most visitors to Ngong Ping will enjoy a walk in the quiet area beyond the bustle of the tourist development · good view on Tung Chung Road, Tung Chung valley and the east end of the airport Island but the duration to see Po Lin Monastery/Giant Budda is relatively short and the view is relatively poor |
· creates visual/environmental impact on a number of residential sites including the school at TC37 · small scale of loss of vegetation |
· substantial vegetation clearance for the construction of the terminal and emergency/maintenance access · not supported by the Master of Po Lin Monastery |
|
Alignment 3 |
Location C |
Location Y |
|
· cause visual impact to the largest group of the sensitive receivers at Tung Chung New Town · greatest potential for tree felling to accommodate the tower construction · detract seriously from the undeveloped, rural landscape character of the western flank of the Tung Chung valley · ecological impacts on the key habitats including woodlands on the east of the Tung Chung valley · alignment will traverse across the country side on the east of the Monastery where most visitors to Ngong Ping will enjoy a walk in the quiet area beyond the bustle of the tourist development · a panoramic view on Tung Chung New Town but the duration to see Po Lin Monastery/Giant Budda is relatively short and the view is relatively poor |
· affects the residential development at TC71and TC46 · requires reclamation of the Pak Sha Tsui Island and will have impacts on the San Tau Beach SSSI |
· substantial vegetation clearance for the construction of the terminal and emergency/maintenance access · not supported by the Master of Po Lin Monastery |
|
|
|
|
|
Alignment 4 |
Location D |
Location Y |
|
· cause visual impact to the residential site in Area TC71 and to the largest group of the sensitive receivers at Tung Chung New Town · relatively high potential for tree felling to accommodate tower construction · alignment will traverse across the country side on the east of the Monastery where most visitors to Ngong Ping will enjoy a walk in the quiet area beyond the bustle of the tourist development · a panoramic view on Tung Chung New Town but the duration to see Po Lin Monastery/Giant Budda is relatively short and the view is relatively poor |
· requires the reclamation of the Pak Sha Tsui Island and will have impacts on the San Tau Beach SSSI · lesser degree of visual/environmental impacts to the housing site as the site will be further away from the planned housing site at TC46 |
· substantial vegetation clearance for the construction of the terminal and emergency/maintenance access · not supported by the Master of Po Lin Monastery |
|
Alignment 5 |
Location E |
Location X |
|
· cause visual impact to the housing and residential sites in Area TC4, TC72 and TC73 · detract seriously from the landscape character and topography of the upland skyline as seen from Tung Chung · traverse over Lin Chi Temple and is closer to the residents at Ngong Ping · panoramic view on the New Town and the Airport on the downhill ride and the view on the Giant Buddha is better than the above 3 options when approaching Ngong Ping · least damaging ecologically as it impacts mainly on grassland and scrub habitats |
· with the terminal located at the heart of Tung Chung Town Centre, the terminal building has good potential to become a focal point within the New Town · the movement and activities associated with the cable cars is more likely to provide dynamic element to the Town Centre of interest rather than intrusion to the population in general · located on reclaimed land in an urban setting with no loss of vegetation |
· relatively small impacts on ecology as there are large paved areas available and is close to the existing Ngong Ping Road · support from the Master of Po Lin Monastery as it can improve the overall layout in front of Po Lin Monastery |
|
Alignment 6 |
Location E |
Location X |
|
· this alignment will impact on the woodland and stream valley south of San Tau · its visual impact on the largest group of the sensitive receivers at Tung Chung New Town is the least as the alignment on the other side of the ridge line separates Tung Chung New Town and is furthest away from the Town · the route is similarly concealed from Tung Chung although portions on the ridgeline may be visible as intrusions into the natural skyline from coastal villages to the west · panoramic view on the Airport and the northwest coast on the downhill ride. Unobstructed view of Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery when approaching Ngong Ping · this alignment will be clear of Lin Chi Temple and is further away from the residents at Ngong Ping |
· with the terminal located at the heart of Tung Chung Town Centre, the terminal building has good potential to become a focal point within the New Town · the movement and activities associated with the cable cars is more likely to provide dynamic element to the Town Centre of interest rather than intrusion to the population in general · located on reclaimed land in an urban setting with no loss of vegetation |
· relatively small impacts on ecology as there are large paved areas available and is close to the existing Ngong Ping Road · support from the Master of Po Lin Monastery as it can improve the overall layout in front of Po Lin Monastery |
|
|
|
|
|
Alignment 7 |
Location E1 |
Location X |
|
· cause less visual impact and its impact on the largest group of the sensitive receivers at Tung Chung New Town is much less but cause visual impact to the relatively small number of residents/hill walkers on the northwest coast of Lantau · unlike Alignment 2, 3, 4 & 5, this is countered by the seclusion of San Tau valley and the intervening ridgeline effectively concealing and helping to mitigate the landscape impacts of the hillside portion of the route from the New Town · panoramic view on the New Town and the Airport on the downhill side. Unobstructed view of Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery when approaching Ngong Ping · this alignment will be clear of Lin Chi Temple and is further away from the residents at Ngong Ping · the route crosses the second least amount of woodland · existing footpaths run close to this alignment · similar to Alignment 5 but with slightly less severe impacts on habitats, as preliminary studies indicate that only one tower is located within woodland areas. |
· with the terminal located at the heart of Tung Chung Town Centre, the terminal building has good potential to become a focal point within the New Town · the movement and activities associated with the cable cars is more likely to provide dynamic element to the Town Centre of interest rather than intrusion to the population in general · located on reclaimed land in an urban setting with no loss of vegetation |
· relatively small impacts on ecology as there are large paved areas available and is close to the existing Ngong Ping Road · support from the Master of Po Lin Monastery as it can improve the overall layout in front of Po Lin Monastery |
Terminal locations E or E1 at Tung Chung at Area TC2 were similar in terms of visual, landscape, ecology and environmental performance. The preferred terminal location at Ngong Ping is Location X to the west of Po Lin Monastery. The preferred alignment is Alignment 7.