1 INTRODUCTION.. 5
1.1 Project Background. 5
1.2 WDII Review.. 7
1.3 Harbour-Front Enhancement Review.. 8
1.4 Environmental Impact Assessment 9
1.5 Objectives and Scope of the EIA Study. 10
1.6 Designated Projects under the EIAO.. 11
1.7 Relevant Approved EIA Reports. 12
1.8 Structure of this Volume 2 – Part B.. 12
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Project Background
1.1.1
Wan
Chai Development Phase II (WDII) is the conclusion of a number of planning
studies commissioned by Government, covering transport infrastructure and
development along the shoreline of Central and Wan Chai, that date back to the
early 1980s. The WDII project is
undergoing a process of statutory town planning procedures and public
consultation, in which there has been thorough public discussion on matters
including the scale of reclamation and the usage of the land to be made
available by the project.
1.1.2
The
need for the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation was first identified in the
strategic study on “Harbour Reclamations and Urban Growth” undertaken between
March 1982 and October 1983. The
need was further confirmed in various planning studies, including the
Territorial Development Strategy of 1984, the Port and Airport Development
Strategy 1989, Metroplan 1991, and the Territorial Development Strategy Review
of 1996. The whole Central and Wan
Chai Reclamation project forms land for the construction of, among other
things, strategic transport links, associated surface road networks, the
Airport Railway and its Hong Kong Station and the Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) Extension. The Central Reclamation Phases I, II and
the Wan Chai Reclamation Phase I were completed in 1997 to 1998. Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII) is
currently under construction. WDII
is the final phase, and an integral part, of the Central and Wan Chai
Reclamation.
1.1.3
The
Wan Chai Development Phase II Comprehensive Feasibility Study (the WDIICFS) was
commissioned by the then Territory Development Department in June 1999. The main purpose of that assignment was
to make provision for key transport infrastructure and facilities along the
north shore
of Hong Kong Island,
in Wan Chai and Causeway
Bay. Under the WDIICFS, a Trunk Road layout
was derived, comprising the Central-Wan Chai Bypass (CWB) running along the Wan
Chai shoreline in tunnel, and the Island Eastern Corridor Link (IECL) running
behind the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter (CBTS) on elevated roadway, connecting to the
existing elevated Island Eastern Corridor (IEC). New land was proposed along the Wan Chai
and Causeway Bay shoreline, primarily for the
construction of the Trunk Road and other key infrastructure, and also to
provide an attractive waterfront with a new public promenade. A total reclamation area of some 28.5 ha along the existing Wan Chai and
Causeway Bay shorelines was envisaged under the WDIICFS, from the interface
with the CRIII project on the west side of the HKCEC Extension, to the east of
the CBTS.
1.1.4
The
Trunk Road and the associated land use proposals for the WDII project were
incorporated in a draft Wan Chai North Outline Zoning Plan No. S/H25/1 (the
draft OZP) which was gazetted under the Town Planning Ordinance on 19 April
2002. At the same time, the road works and reclamation proposed under the
WDII project were gazetted under the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation)
Ordinance and Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations) Ordinance respectively.
1.1.5
Objections to the draft OZP were received and
considered by the Town Planning Board, which decided to propose amendments to
the draft OZP to meet or partially meet some of the objections after giving
preliminary consideration and further consideration to the objections on 6
September 2002, and 29 November 2002 and 6 December 2002, respectively; and
after giving consideration to further objections on 14 February 2003.
1.1.6
In February 2003, the Society for the
Protection of the Harbour Limited sought a judicial review of the decisions of
the Town Planning Board made on 6 December 2002 and 14 February 2003 in connection with the draft Wan
Chai North OZP and its compliance with the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance
(PHO). The High Court handed down its judgment on 8 July
2003, whereby the decisions of the Town Planning Board made
on 6 December 2002 and 14 February 2003
in respect of the draft OZP were quashed. The
Court also ordered the Town Planning Board to reconsider the draft OZP and the
objections thereto. As this
interpretation of the PHO would apply to all future planning of harbour-front
areas which included reclamation, and due to the great general and public
importance of the case, the Town Planning Board appealed directly to the Court
of Final Appeal (CFA).
1.1.7
Objections were also received for the WDII road
works and reclamation schemes gazetted under the Roads (Works, Use and
Compensation) Ordinance and Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations) Ordinance
respectively. In the light of the
on-going legal proceedings, it was considered not appropriate to submit the
road works and reclamation schemes to the Chief Executive in Council for
consideration. The above gazettals
lapsed on 18 and 19 September 2003 respectively. The WDII project has been re-gazetted
under the relevant ordinances in July 2007.
1.1.8
In October 2003, the Town Planning Board considered the findings of a preliminary planning
assessment on the draft OZP conducted by Planning Department
according to the High Court’s
judgment on the judicial review and requested
Government to conduct a comprehensive review of
the planning and engineering proposals of the WDII project and draw up a
minimum reclamation option for Wan Chai North that would comply with the
law. The Town Planning Board is
reconsidering the draft OZP and the objections according to the provisions of
the Town Planning Ordinance.
1.1.9
On 9 January 2004, the CFA handed down
its judgment on the judicial review.
The CFA ruled that the presumption against reclamation in the PHO can
only be rebutted by establishing an overriding public need for reclamation (the
“Overriding Public Need Test”), and that there must be cogent and convincing
materials available to enable the decision-maker to be satisfied that the test
is fulfilled for rebutting the presumption against reclamation.
1.1.10 Following
the Town Planning Board request for a review of the WDII proposals and in the
light of the CFA judgment, Government has undertaken to conduct a
planning and engineering review of the development and reclamation proposals
for the WDII project (the WDII Review).
The WDII Review
commenced in March 2004.
1.2
WDII Review
1.2.1
The
main purpose of the WDII project is to provide
land for the construction
of the Trunk
Road (comprising the CWB which runs from Central Interchange in Central
Reclamation Phase I through the CRIII and WDII project areas, and the IECL
which provides connection from the eastern portal of the CWB to the IEC), and other key transport
infrastructure including the necessary ground level roads for connection to the
Trunk Road and to cater for through traffic from Central to Wan Chai and
Causeway Bay.
1.2.2
Rail infrastructure that would be accommodated by
the WDII project includes the Hong Kong Island section of the Shatin
to Central Link (SCL) and the future Mass Transit Railway (MTR) North Hong Kong
Island Line (NIL).
1.2.3
The land formed for the above transport
infrastructure will provide opportunities for the development of an
attractive waterfront promenade
for the enjoyment of the public.
1.2.4
The WDII Review seeks to assess individually the purpose and extent of each proposed reclamation by
reference to the Overriding Public Need Test and, if needed, to make
recommendations on the revised alignment for the Trunk Road and at-grade roads,
extent of reclamation and/or
the land uses for the review
area covered by the Assignment.
1.3
Harbour-Front
Enhancement Review
1.3.1
The
Harbour-front Enhancement Committee (HEC) was established in May 2004 to advise
Government, through the then Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, on the
planning, land uses and developments along the existing and new harbour-front
of Victoria Harbour. As guidance for the planning,
development and management of the Victoria
Harbour and the
harbour-front areas, the HEC has established harbour planning principles which
should be followed when examining transport infrastructure, including the Trunk
Road, and harbour-front enhancement schemes. These are:
·
preserving
Victoria Harbour
·
stakeholder
engagement
·
sustainable
development
·
integrated
planning
·
proactive
harbour enhancement
·
vibrant
harbour
·
accessible
harbour
·
public
enjoyment.
1.3.2
The
HEC has set up a Sub-committee, namely the Sub-committee on WDII Review, to
advise on the WDII Review.
Government has accepted the recommendation by the Sub-committee on WDII
Review that enhanced participation should be a key element of the Review. To achieve this, a public engagement
exercise, namely the “Harbour-front Enhancement Review – Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Adjoining Areas”
(HER), has been carried out under the steer of the Sub-committee on WDII
Review. Results of the HER project
provide inputs to the WDII Review.
1.3.3
In
order to achieve a better understanding of the opportunities for waterfront
enhancement and to ensure a high degree of community support for the future
draft OZPs and the draft Recommended Outline Development Plan (RODP), a 3-stage
public engagement strategy has been formulated so as to enable a more
structured approach to be adopted to the HER public engagement activities:
(i)
“Envisioning Stage” Public
to provide their visions, wishes and concepts, as well as to compile
Sustainability Principles and Indicators as a basis for the development of the
Concept Plan
(ii)
“Realization Stage” Public
to evaluate the Concept Plan to arrive at consensus
(iii)
“Detailed Planning Stage” Ensure
draft OZPs and draft RODP reflect the consensus.
1.3.4
The
Envisioning Stage was formally launched on 22 May 2005, with a wide range of
public engagement activities taking place over a two-month public engagement
period. The envisioning exercise
was to engage the public in identifying the key issues and establishing
principles in terms of improving the waterfront. The concept of sustainable development
underpins the whole HER project. A
list of sustainability principles and indicators was prepared and agreed
through the public consultation process; these agreed sustainability principles
and indicators have been used to evaluate the Concept Plan that was developed
in the Realization Stage.
1.3.5
As
part of the public engagement activities, the HEC Sub-committee on WDII Review
convened an “Expert Panel Forum on Sustainable Transport Planning and
Central-Wan Chai Bypass”, to explore sustainable transport along the northern
shore of Hong Kong Island and to deliberate on whether the Central-Wan Chai
Bypass (ie the Trunk Road) is needed – one of the key issues of the project.
1.3.6
The
various issues that were raised by participants during the public engagement
process, particularly in respect of Trunk Road alignments and harbour-front
enhancement ideas, were extensively considered and addressed by the
Sub-committee on WDII Review as part of the process of consolidating
harbour-front and Trunk Road ideas.
The outcomes of this process then formed the basis of the preparation of
the Concept Plan.
1.3.7
In the
Realization Stage, a Concept Plan, for the development and enhancement of the
harbour-front under the ambit of the WDII Review, was prepared for evaluation
and consensus building by the public, using the HEC’s harbour planning
principles and the sustainability principles and indicators developed during
the Envisioning Stage. At a Consensus Building Town Hall
meeting on 16 December 2006, there was general agreement with the proposals put
forward by the Concept Plan, in respect of the Trunk Road proposal and the
envisaged land uses, although there was some discussion on various detailed
aspects of the harbour-front enhancement schemes.
1.3.8
On the
basis of consensus on the Concept Plan, detailed planning, engineering and
environmental assessments have been carried out for the derivation of the draft
OZPs and RODP, which reflect the consensus on the Concept Plan.
1.4
Environmental Impact Assessment
1.4.1
A
detailed scheme for the WDII project including Road P2 (hereafter referred to
as “the Project”) has been developed. Figure 1.1 shows the layout plan of the Project. This scheme has been subject to detailed
environmental impact assessment (EIA) under the WDII Review.
1.4.2
Two
previous EIA studies provide background to this current EIA:
(i)
An EIA
was carried out on the development proposals under the WDIICFS. An EIA Report on these proposals was
approved under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) in 2001
(Application No. EIA-058/2001).
(ii)
In
parallel with the WDIICFS, Government also commissioned a Project Review Study
of the Trunk Road (CWB & IECL), which was completed in July 2001. An EIA Report on the proposed works was approved under the
EIAO in 2001 (Application No. EIA-057/2001).
1.4.3
An
application for an EIA Study Brief for the Project was made to Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) and has been registered under the EIAO (EIA Study
Brief No. ESB-153/2006). The EIA
Study for the Project has been undertaken in accordance with the EIA Study
Brief and the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process
(EIAO-TM).
1.5
Objectives and Scope of the EIA Study
1.5.1
According
to the EIA Study Brief, the purpose of this EIA Study is to provide information
on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction
and operation of the developments proposed under the Project and related works
that take place concurrently. This
information will contribute to decision on:
(i)
The
overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences that are likely
to arise as a result of the Project and associated works, and any related
phased implementation.
(ii)
The
conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation
of the Project to mitigate against adverse environmental consequences wherever
practicable.
(iii)
The
acceptability of residual impacts after the staged as well as the full implementation
of the Project, the associated works and the related proposed mitigation
measures.
1.5.2
The
EIA Study Brief, in accordance with the EIAO-TM, states the objectives for this
EIA Study as follows:
·
to
describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements and
environmental benefits for carrying out the Project and associated works; and
to identify, within the scope of the EIA study as defined in section 3.2 of the
EIA Study Brief, any individual project(s) that fall under Schedule 2 of the
EIAO
·
to
identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to
be affected by the Project and associated works and/or likely to cause adverse
impacts to the Project, including both the natural and man-made environment and
associated environmental constraints
·
to
provide information on the consideration of alternatives/options for different
development schemes and construction methods
·
to
identify and assess air quality impact, noise impact, water quality impact,
sewerage impact, waste management implications, land contamination, landscape
and visual impact, marine ecological impact, cultural heritage impact and
determine the significance of the impacts on sensitive receivers and potential
affected uses
·
to
propose measures to avoid or minimize pollution, environmental disturbance,
nuisance and adverse impacts during construction and operation of the Project
·
to
investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of
the proposed impact avoidance or mitigation measures
·
to
identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after
practicable avoidance or mitigation measures) and the cumulative effects
expected to arise during the construction and operation of the Project and
associated works in relation to the sensitive receivers and potential affected
uses
·
to
identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in
the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project and associated
works which are necessary to mitigate these environmental impacts and
cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels
·
to
investigate the extent of the secondary environmental impacts that may arise
from the proposed mitigation measures and to identify constraints associated
with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA study, as well as provision
of any necessary modification
·
to
ascertain whether the EIA study has adequately addressed the environmental
impacts of those Schedule 2 designated projects identified; and, where
necessary, to identify the outstanding issues that need to be addressed in any
further detailed EIA study
·
to
design and specify environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure
effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection and
pollution control measures.
1.5.3
As per
the requirements of the EIA Study Brief, the environmental issues, including
air quality impact, noise impact, water quality impact, waste management implication,
landscape and visual impact, ecological impact, land contamination impact,
sewerage impact and sewage treatment implications and cultural heritage impact,
have been addressed in this EIA Report.
In view of the nature, scope and location of the Project, impacts on
climate, soils, and agriculture and fisheries activities would not be of
concern and hence these issues have not been addressed in this EIA Report. The environmental impacts on land use, and
people and communities have been addressed in the relevant assessment chapters
of the EIA Report.
1.6
Designated Projects under the EIAO
1.6.1
The
major element of the future ground level road system is Road P2, which runs
east-west from Central to connections with the existing road network in Wan
Chai North. Road P2 is a dual
2-lane primary distributor that serves both local east-west movements and the
distribution of north-south traffic movements.
1.6.2
The
Road P2 alignment has been planned to run over the top of the Trunk Road tunnel
through CRIII and the HKCEC water channel, to the connection with Fleming Road,
in order to minimise
the overall road “footprint” and area of land sterilised by highway infrastructure. New
junctions are formed along Road P2 with the north-south roads.
1.6.3
Along
the Wan Chai shoreline, the existing Hung Hing Road in front of the Wan Chai
North Public Transport
Interchange (PTI) is realigned to connect with the new Road
P2 / Fleming Road junction, but the current Hung Hing Road alignment further east in front of the Wan
Chai Sports Ground is retained. The
length of the new Road P2 through WDII is approximately 0.6 km.
The new at-grade road network also provides connections to slip roads of
the Trunk Road in
Wan Chai North. The total length of other new primary and district distributor
road connecting to slip road of the Trunk Road is around 0.7 km.
1.6.4
The
Road P2 and other roads which are classified as primary/district distributor
roads (DP2) is a Designated Project under Schedule 2, Part I, A1 of the
EIAO. The location of DP2 is shown
in Figure 1.2b.
1.7
Relevant Approved EIA Reports
1.7.1
For
the purpose of this EIA study, relevant findings of the following approved EIA
Reports have been
reviewed and taken into account wherever appropriate:
·
Wan
Chai Development Phase II Comprehensive Feasibility Study (EIAO Register No.
AEIAR-042/2001)
·
Central
– Wan Chai Bypass and Island
Eastern Corridor Link (EIAO Register No. AEIAR-041/2001)
·
Central
Reclamation Phase III – Studies, Site Investigation, Design and Construction
(EIAO Register No. AEIAR-040/2001)
·
Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition Centre Atrium Link Extension (EIAO Register No.
AEIAR-100/2001).
1.8
Structure of this Volume 2 – Part B
1.8.1
Section
1 of this Volume 2 – Part B describes
the background of the overall Project, the objectives of the EIA study and the overview of DP2. A description of the DP2 is then provided
in Section 2. Sections 3 to 11
detail the results of the environmental impact assessment, covering relevant
legislation,
environmental conditions, assessment criteria and methods, and assessment
findings. An outline of the
requirements for the environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) programme is presented in
Section 12. The EM&A programme
is also
presented in detail in a separate EM&A Manual. A detailed implementation schedule of
the recommended mitigation measures is provided in Section 13. A conclusion of the assessment is given
in Section 14. In summary, Sections
1 to 14 include:
·
Section
1 – Introduction
·
Section
2 – Project Description
·
Section
3 – Air Quality
·
Section
4 – Noise
·
Section
5 –Hydrodynamics and Water Quality
·
Section
6 – Waste Management
·
Section
7 – Land Contamination
·
Section
8 – Sewerage Impact and Sewage Treatment Implications
·
Section
9 – Marine Ecology
·
Section
10 – Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
·
Section
11 – Cultural Heritage
·
Section
12 – Environmental Monitoring & Audit
·
Section
13 – Implementation Schedule of Proposed Mitigation Measures
·
Section
14 - Conclusion