14

Table 14.1 Summary of Environmental Impacts Associated with the Project

Environmental Issue	Sensitive Receivers/ Assessment Points	Impact Prediction Results	Relevant Standards/ Criteria	Extents of Exceedances	Impact Avoidance Measures/ Mitigation Measures	Residual Impacts
Air Quality
Construction Phase	17 assessment points	1-hour Average TSP Conc.: 148-421 mg/m³ 24-hour Average TSP Conc.: 110-235mg/m³	EIAO-TM and Air Quality Objective	Nil	Four times daily watering with complete coverage of active construction area Requirements of the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation The following mitigation measures, good site practices and a comprehensive dust monitoring and audit programme are recommended to minimise cumulative dust impacts. · Strictly limit the truck speed on site to below 10 km per hour and water spraying to keep the haul roads in wet condition;	Nil
					· Watering during excavation and material handling;
					· Provision of vehicle wheel and body washing facilities at the exit points of the site, combined with cleaning of public roads where necessary; and
					· Tarpaulin covering of all dusty vehicle loads transported to, from and between site locations.
Operational Phase	21 assessment points	1-hour Average NO₂ Conc.: 73-129 mg/m³ 24-hour Average NO₂ Conc.: 62-85 mg/m³ 24-hour Average RSP Conc.: 56-62 mg/m³	Air Quality Objective	Nil	Not Applicable	Nil
	Air quality inside CWB Tunnel & deckover for planned HKCEC Atrium Link	CWB Tunnel – achieve EPD recommended standard of 1 ppm NO₂ concentration	EPD Tunnel Air Quality Guidelines	Nil	Not Applicable	Nil
		Deckover on Atrium Link – the predicted maximum NO₂ concentrations (5 minutes average) under normal traffic flow and congested traffic flow would be 114mg/m³ and 130mg/m³respectively,
Noise
Construction Phase	N1 to N3	Predicted noise levels would be in the range of 71 to 81 dB(A).	Domestic premises: 75dB(A)	Domestic premises: Exceed the noise standard by up to 5 dB(A).	Use of quiet equipment and movable noise barriers to mininise construction noise impact	Nil
Construction Phase	N1 to N3					Nil
Operational Phase	N1 to N6	NSRs N1 – N6: 60 – 87 dB(A)	Domestic premises: 70 dB(A)	Domestic premises: Exceed the noise standard by up to 17dB(A).	Not Applicable	The ‘New’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels at all representative NSRs would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the ‘New’ road noise levels would all be below the relevant noise criteria. No adverse noise impacts arising from the ‘New’ roads are predicted at representative NSRs. Noise exceedances at the representative NSRs, if any, would be due to the existing roads.
Water Quality
Construction Phase	Seawater intakes at or near the Project site	It is anticipated that the water quality impacts will generally be localised during construction. Unacceptable impact on the identified sensitive receivers is not expected.	Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO) Water Supplies Department (WSD) Water Quality Criteria: for flushing intake Technical Memorandum on Standards for Effluents Discharged into Drainage and Sewerage Systems, Inland and Coastal Waters (TM-DSS) ProPECC PN 1/94 “Construction Site Drainage”	Not applicable	Good housekeeping and stormwater best management practices for control of construction site runoff, stormwater discharges, sewage effluent, drainage and general refuse	Nil
Operational Phase	Seawater intakes at or near the Project site	It is anticipated that the water quality impacts will generally be localised during operation. Unacceptable impact on the identified sensitive receivers is not expected.	WPCO WSD Water Quality Criteria: for flushing intake TM-DSS ProPECC PN 1/94 “Construction Site Drainage”	Not applicable	Provision of adequately designed silt trap and oil interceptors, as necessary	Nil
Waste Management Implications
Construction Phase	Not applicable	General refuse from the workforce; chemical waste from plant and equipment maintenance; and C&D material from excavation works and the demolition of existing structures.	1. Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354) 2. Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation (Cap. 354)	Not applicable	Refer to Table 13.4	Nil

			3. Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28)
			4. Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) - Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation
			5. Annexes 7 & 15 of EIAO TM
Land Contamination Impact
Construction Phase	Construction Workers via direct ingestion of and dermal contact with contaminated soils.	No land contamination impact is expected.	ProPECC PN3/94 - “Contaminated Land Assessment and Remediation” “Guidance Notes for Investigation and Remediation of Contaminated Sites of: Petrol Filling Stations, Boatyards, and Car Repair /Dismantling Workshops	None	None	None
Construction Phase				None	None	None
Marine Ecological Impacts
Construction Phase	Marine ecological resources in the assessment area	No adverse ecological impact is expected. Only negligible indirect impact on subtidal and intertidal habitats and associated marinewildlife caused from change of water quality due to potential site run-off from land-based construction works	(See water quality assessment)	(See water quality assessment)	- As no adverse ecological impact on marine habitats and associated wildlife is identified, no necessary mitigation measure specific for marine ecology is required.	Not expected

Landscape and Visual Impact
Construction Phase	All Landscape Resources / Landscape Character Areas and Visual Sensitive Receivers within the study area	- Approximately 110 trees will be affected. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered specie but common species.	1. ETWB TCW No. 29/2004 - Registration of Old and Valuable Trees, and Guidelines for their Preservation, 2. ETWB TCW No. 3/2006 - Tree Preservation	Not applicable	- Existing trees to be retained on site should be carefully protected during construction. - Trees unavoidably affected by the works should be transplanted where practical. - Compensatory tree planting should be provided to compensate for felled trees.	Landscape Impacts - Approximately 110 trees will be affected. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered specie but common species.
					- Control of night-time lighting. - Erection of decorative screen hoarding compatible with the surrounding setting.	Visual Impacts - With implementation of mitigation measures, there will still be some moderate negative visual impact on the VSRs in the front row of high rise buildings along the waterfront from Central to Wan Chai. Residual impacts VSRs further away the Victoria harbour will become slight.
Operational Phase	All Landscape Resources / Landscape Character Areas and Visual Sensitive Receivers within the study area	Not applicable	1. particularly Annexes 10 and 18, 2. EIAO Guidance Note 8/2002, 3. Town Planning Ordinance (Cap 131),	Not applicable	- Aesthetic design of road-related structures. - Buffer Tree and Shrub Planting to screen proposed roads and associated structures. - Aesthetic streetscape design.	Landscape Impacts With implementation of mitigation measures The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be further enhanced by the proposed open space. Specific themes for the open spaces will be proposed to the waterfront from Central to Wan Chai.
			4. ETWB TCW No. 2/2004 - Maintenance of Vegetation and Hard Landscape Features,		- Aesthetic design of roadside amenity areas.
			5. EIAO and TM,
			6. ETWB TCW No. 29/2004 - Registration of Old and Valuable Trees, and Guidelines for their Preservation, 7. ETWB TCW No. 3/2006 - Tree Preservation			Visual Impacts There will be substantial to moderate positive visual impact on VSRs along the new waterfront as the landscape and visual amenity are generally enhanced and strengthen by the proposed project.
Cultural Heritage Impact
Construction Phase	Cultural heritage resources within the project boundary	No adverse cultural heritage impact is expected.	1. Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap.53)	Not applicable	None	Nil
			2. Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) (Cap. 499, S.16)
			3. Technical Memorandum on the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM)
			4. Guidance Notes on Assessment of Impact on Sites of Cultural Heritage in Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (GN-CH)
			5. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) 6. Marine Archaeological Investigation Guidelines.

14.2 Environmental Outcomes

14.2.1 The major environmentally sensitive areas within the study area include residential buildings, commercial buildings, hotels, recreational areas, educational institutions, and WSD flushing water intakes and cooling water intakes at the waterfront of Victoria Harbour. The population within the study area is approximately 125,000. With the implementation of the proposed control and mitigation measures, the air, noise and water quality sensitive receivers within the study area would be protected from adverse environmental impacts arising from the Project during both construction and operational phases. A summary of the key environmental outcomes arising from the EIA study and environmental benefits of the environmental protection measures recommended are presented in Table 14.2 below.

Table 14.2 Summary of Key Environmental Outcomes/ Benefits

Issue	Environmental Outcomes/Benefits
The Project	Requirements: 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. 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 minimize the overall road “footprint” and area of land sterilized by highway infrastructure. New junctions are formed along Road P2 with the north-south roads.
	Benefits: The primary distributor serves both local east-west movements and the distribution of north-south traffic movements. The new junction with Fleming Road / Hung Hing Road will improve traffic conditions along Fleming Road, by moving the critical bottleneck junctions (Fleming Road / Hung Hing Road and Fleming Road / Harbour Road) further apart to alleviate the current congestion caused by tailbacks along Fleming Road through Harbour Road. The at-grade road network provides connections to slip roads of the Trunk Road at Wan Chai North area. The slip road connections are essential in meeting traffic demand and enabling the Trunk Road to adequately perform its function of relieving traffic from the overloaded Connaught Road Central / Harcourt Road / Gloucester Road corridor.
	Potential consequences without the Project: (i) Not able to relieve traffic congestion · The primary distributor is important in serving both local east-west movements and the distribution of north-south traffic movements. Without the primary distributor, most of the critical junctions in Wan Chai north area will have negative reserve capacities. Most of the traffic from the Central waterfront heading east would access to Connaught Road Central causing the junction of Connaught Road and Connaught Place to operate over capacity. The junction of Fleming Road and Harbour Road would operate over capacity during the AM peak which reveals that the traffic congestion problem along Fleming Road and Harbour Road would remain unresolved.
	· Without the slip road connections, the Trunk Road cannot adequately perform its function of relieving traffic from the overloaded Connaught Road Central / Harcourt Road / Gloucester Road corridor. (ii) Likely environmental conditions · In the absence of project, similar air quality conditions along the northshore areas of Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and North Point as currently exist would be expected to continue. There would be no opportunity to improve air quality condition by diverting traffic underground. With the project, air quality at the east tunnel portal area of the proposed Trunk Road would be enhanced by the introduction of an electrostatic precipitator system into the tunnel ventilation exhaust system and zero portal emission design of the East Tunnel Portal. · In the absence of the project, the noise environment of the project area would be increased due to the natural growth of traffic. In the presence of the project, it would help lessen the traffic burden on Gloucester Road by diverting traffic to the proposed Trunk Road tunnel. There would be an improvement of the noise environment alongside Gloucester Road. Besides, the project would provide an opportunity to alleviate the noise impact at noise sensitive receivers along IEC at North Point area by installing the proposed landscaped deck at the east tunnel portal area of the Trunk Road and direct noise mitigation measures on the reconstructed IEC. In this regard, it is anticipated that the future noise environment would be improved in the presence of the project. · Water quality at Victoria Harbour would be similar for both the situations with and without the Project.
Development Alternatives	Different scenarios for the road networks (e.g. with and without the Road P2 and Wan Chai slip road connections) have been examined in the Envisioning Stage - Expert Panel Forum on Sustainable Transport Planning and Central-Wan Chai Bypass in September 2005. Details shall refer to the “Submission to the Expert Panel by Transport Department” and the “Supplementary Note to the Expert Panel by Transport Department”, which can be viewed at the HEC website: http://www.harbourfront.org.hk/eng/content_page/envis_stage.html?s=1. The Expert Panel recognizes the need for Road P2 and supports the provision of slip roads at the Wan Chai area to magnify the benefits of the CWB. The Report of the Expert Panel can also be viewed on the HEC website at: http://www.harbourfront.org.hk/eng/content_page/doc/report_of_the_expert _panel.pdf.
Construction Air Quality Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: During construction phase, potential air quality impacts include dust nuisance and gaseous emissions from the construction plant and vehicles.. Mitigation measures for dust impact include four times watering a day on the active work areas and implementation of the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation and good site practices. With the implementation of the recommended control and mitigation measures, no adverse air quality impacts are anticipated. Compensation areas included: Not required Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Existing air sensitive receivers within 500m of the project boundary.
Operational Air Quality Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: · No unacceptable residual traffic emission impacts are anticipated at the existing and future ASRs.
	Air quality inside CWB Tunnel and deckover for planned HKCEC Atrium Link would comply with standards of EPD Tunnel Air Quality Guidelines. Compensation areas included: Not required Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: · Existing and planned air sensitive receivers within 500m of the project boundary.
Construction Noise Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: The predicted mitigated noise levels would range from 64 to 72 dB(A) at the representative NSRs. With the implementation of quiet PME and movable barriers under the Project and noise mitigation measures under other concurrent Schedule 2 DPs, the noise levels at all representative NSRs would comply with the construction noise standard.
	Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Noise sensitive receivers within 300m of the project boundary.
Road Traffic Noise Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: Mitigated noise levels: 60 dB(A) to 87 dB(A). No direct noise mitigation measures have been proposed for DP2. Noise exceedances at the representative NSRs are due to the existing roads. The ‘new’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels at all representative NSRs would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the ‘new’ road noise levels would all be below the relevant noise criteria. No adverse noise impacts arising from the ‘new’ roads are predicted at any of the representative NSRs. None of the representative NSRs is eligible for consideration for indirect technical remedies.
	Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Noise sensitive receivers within 300m of the project boundary.
Water Quality Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: Water quality impacts from land-based construction are associated with the surface runoff, effluent discharge from the site, and sewage from on-site construction workers. Impacts can be controlled to comply with the WPCO standards by implementing the recommended mitigation measures. No unacceptable residual impacts on water quality are anticipated.
	Potential water quality impact would be associated with surface road runoff which may be contaminated by oils leaked from passing vehicles. It is considered that impacts upon water quality will be minimal provided that the road works are designed with adequate drainage systems and appropriate oil interceptors, as required Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Seawater intakes along the waterfront of Victoria Harbour and corals identified in Junk Bay, Green Island and Cape Collinson.
Waste Management Implications	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: With the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures and practices, potential air, odour, noise, water quality for the handling, transportation and disposal of the identified waste arisings, no adverse environmental impacts are expected.
	Limited amount of refuse and debris may be unintentionally brought from the site into the harbour during heavy rains or typhoons. Given that the Project would not worsen the shoreline configuration and the implementation of appropriate control measures during construction phase, it is considered that the future quantity of refuse to be found along the shoreline would be similar if not better than the existing situation. With the implementation of a refuse collection system within the project area, no insurmountable environmental impact with regard to floating refuse would be anticipated during the construction phase, or after completion of the Project. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Water quality, air, and noise sensitive receivers at or near the Project site, the waste transportation routes and the waste disposal site.
Land Contamination Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No potential contaminative land uses were identified within the Study Area. As such, adverse land contamination impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project is not expected. Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: No construction worker would be affected.
Marine Ecological Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No adverse ecological impact on marine ecology is expected. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: No marine ecological receiver would be affected.
Landscape and Visual Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: · Under the proposed development, approximately 13.8 ha of new waterfront open space and nine new pedestrian links to the new harbour-front will be provided. This will strengthen the existing waterfront character from Wan Chai to North Point and enhance the connectivity between the waterfront and the hinterland. The overall urban landscape framework will be strengthened and enhanced by the proposed project. · Approximately 110 trees will be affected. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees, Registered Old and Valuable Trees, rare or endangered specie, all trees are common species. Approximately 1500 new trees and other proposed planting will be planted in the new waterfront and along roadside amenity areas after the new open space is built to compensate the felled trees. · During construction, substantial negative impacts on the Fenwick Pier Street Public Open Space landscape character. · However, the exiting landscape characters along the waterfront will be further enhanced by the proposed open space. Specific themes will be proposed to the waterfront from Central to Wan Chai. Therefore, the residual impacts on various waterfront landscape characters are considered as substantial positive to moderate positive.
	· With implementation of mitigation measures during construction, there will still be some moderate negative visual impact on the VSRs in the front row of high rise buildings along the waterfront from Central to Wan Chai. Residual impacts on VSRs further away the Victoria Harbour will become slight.
	· During operation, there will be substantial to moderate positive visual impact on VSRs along the new waterfront as the landscape and visual amenity are generally enhanced and strengthened by the Project.
	Compensation areas included: Approximately 13.8 ha of new waterfront open space and nine new pedestrian links to the new harbour-front will be provided Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Existing and planned Landscape Resources , Landscape Character Area and VSR at and near the project site.
Cultural Heritage Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No archaeological impact due to the construction activities is not expected. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: No archaeological resources would be affected.

14.3 Air Quality Impact

Construction Phase

14.3.1 During construction of Road P2 and other roads under WDII DP2, materials handling and wind erosion were identified as the major dust sources. The worst case scenario have been identified and assessed. The findings of the construction phase air quality assessment indicate that no exceedences of the 1-hour and 24-hour total TSP criteria are predicted at ASRs in the vicinity of the construction sites. In order to ensure compliance with the TSP criteria at the ASRs at all times, the dust suppression measures and requirements of the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation should be adhered to during the construction period. In addition, a comprehensive dust monitoring and audit programme are recommended to ensure the effective implementation of dust suppression measures.

Operational Phase

14.3.2 The cumulative effect arising from the background pollutant levels within and adjacent to the WDII development area, vehicle emissions from open road networks, tunnel portal and ventilation building emissions from the Trunk Road, tunnel portal emissions from the CHT and portal emissions from existing underpasses and planned deckovers have been assessed. Results show that the predicted air quality at the ASRs would comply with the AQO. No mitigation measures are requried. The air quality inside the planned deckovers at the HKCEC Atrium Link, Road P2 and Expo Drive would also comply with EPD in-tunnel air quality standards.

14.4 Noise Impact

Construction Phase

14.4.1 This assessment has predicted the construction noise impacts of the Project during normal daytime working hours, taking into account other concurrent Schedule 2 DPs. The predicted unmitigated noise levels would range from 71 to 81 dB(A) at the representative NSRs. With the use of quiet PME and movable barriers for construction tasks under the Project and implementation of the noise mitigation measures for other concurrent Schedule 2 DPs, the noise levels at all representative NSRs would comply with the construction noise standard.

14.4.2 A construction noise EM&A programme is recommended to check the compliance of the noise criteria during normal daytime working hours.

Operational Phase

14.4.3 The potential road traffic noise impacts have been assessed based on the worst case traffic flows in 2031. The noise levels at most of the NSRs in the areas of Wanchai and Causeway Bay are predicted to exceed the EIAO-TM traffic noise criteria due to the existing roads. Without the noise mitigation measures in place, the predicted noise levels at the NSRs would range from 60 to 87 dB(A). Considering the ‘New’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the ‘New’ road noise levels at the representative NSRs would all be below the relevant EIAO-TM noise limits. Direct mitigation measures on ‘New’ roads are therefore not required as they would not be effective in improving the noise environment at the sensitive receivers.

14.4.4 No direct noise mitigation measures are proposed for DP2, road traffic noise monitoring would not be considered necessary.

14.5 Water Quality Impacts

Construction Phase

14.5.1 Water quality impacts from land-based construction are associated with the surface runoff, effluent discharge from the site, and sewage from on-site construction workers. Impacts can be controlled to comply with the WPCO standards by implementing the recommended mitigation measures. No unacceptable residual impacts on water quality are anticipated.

Operational Phase

14.5.2 Potential water quality impact would be associated with surface road runoff which may be contaminated by oils leaked from passing vehicles. It is considered that impacts upon water quality will be minimal provided that the road works are designed with adequate drainage systems and appropriate oil interceptors, as required.

14.6 Waste Management Implications

14.6.1 Wastes generated by the construction activities will include C&D material (including excavated material and demolition material), general refuse from the workforce and chemical waste from the maintenance of construction plant and equipment. C&D material with suitable characteristics would be reused on-site as far as practicable (approximately 0.055 Mm³). Surplus material would require disposal to landfill (approximately 0.003 Mm³). By reducing the quantity of C&D material requiring off-site disposal, the potential impacts from the transportation of material by road will be reduced (such as noise impacts, possible congestion due to increased traffic flows, and dust and exhaust emissions from the haul vehicles). Provided that these identified waste arisings are handled, transported and disposed of using approved methods and that recommended good site practice are strictly followed, adverse environmental impacts of air and odour emissions, noise, potential hazards, wastewater discharge and transport would not be expected during the construction phase.

14.6.2 Floating refuse is an existing waste and the Project itself is not designed to generate floating refuse. Owing to the project area in close proximity to or within Victoria Harbour, limited amount of refuse and debris may be unintentionally brought from the site into the harbour during heavy rains or typhoons. Given that the Project would not worsen the shoreline configuration and the implementation of appropriate control measures during construction phase, it is considered that the future quantity of refuse to be found along the shoreline would be similar if not better than the existing situation.

14.6.3 With the implementation of the refuse collection system properly within the project area, no insurmountable environmental impact with regard to floating refuse would be anticipated during the construction phase, or after completion of the Project.

14.7 Land Contamination Impact

14.7.1 No potential contaminative land uses were identified within the Study Area. As such, no adverse land contamination impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project is expected.

14.8 Marine Ecological Impact

14.8.1 As no proposed marine works would be included in this project, no adverse ecological impact on marine ecology is expected. Only negligible indirect impact on marine ecological resources caused from potential run-off from nearby land-based construction sites is identified. No necessary mitigation measure and monitoring programme specific for marine ecology would be required.

14.9 Landscape and Visual Impact

14.9.1 The proposed development and associated works follow in principle the planning intentions from the Metroplan, Visions and Goals for Victoria Harbour prepared by Town Planning Board and the views of public received during the engagement exercises of the HER that was carried out under the steer of HER Sub-committee on WDII Review. In respond to the CFA judgment on the PHO, the extent of reclamation has been reduced to the minimum. With the new waterfront development proposals together with enhanced connectivity to the waterfront from the hinterland and east-west linkages along the northshore, the landscape planning framework of the waterfront from Wan Chai to North Point is strengthened and reinforced by the proposed project.

14.9.2 It is estimated that approximately 110 trees will be affected by the construction of Road P2 and other roads. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered species but common species. All the trees with high amenity value which are unavoidably affected by the works will be transplanted where possible. Detailed tree preservation, transplanting and felling including compensatory planting proposals will be submitted to relevant government departments for approval in accordance with ET WBTC no. 3/2006. Based on the proposed works, new trees will be planted along roadside amenity areas and new waterfront to compensate for the loss of existing trees.

14.9.3 The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be further enhanced by the proposed open space. Specific themes for the open spaces will be proposed to the waterfront from Central to North Point.

14.9.4 With implementation of mitigation measures during construction, there will still be some moderate negative visual impact on the VSRs in the front row of high rise buildings along the waterfront from Central to Wan Chai. Residual impacts on VSRs further away the Victoria Harbour and to the hinterland will become slight or insubstantial. During operation, there will be substantial to moderate positive visual impact on VSRs along the new waterfront as the landscape and visual amenity are generally enhanced and strengthen by the proposed project. The visual impact from the hinterland and the harbour will be slight or insubstantial.

14.9.5 Under the proposed WDII scheme, there will be a significant area of new open space (13.8 ha) and a substantial number of new trees and other proposed planting (approximately 1500 new trees will be planted in the new waterfront and along roadside amenity areas after the new open space is built to compensate the felled trees). The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be enhanced. Therefore, overall, it is considered that the residual landscape and visual impacts of the proposed development and the associated designated projects are considered acceptable with mitigation measures during construction, acceptable with mitigation measures during operation up to 10 years and beneficial with mitigation in the long run after 20 to 30 years.

14.10 Cultural Heritage Impact

14.10.1 A Cultural Heritage Survey on historical buildings and structures within the project area of WDII was carried out by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) in February 2001 and the findings are presented in the previously approved WDII EIA report. A Cultural Heritage Review was also conducted to review the potential heritage impact associated with the CWB in the CWB&IEC EIA study. The survey and the review have identified several historical buildings and structures within the project area. As there is no new historical building or structure expected within the study area since then, the findings in the previous approved EIA reports are considered still valid.

14.10.2 Based on the findings of the Cultural Heritage Survey and the Cultural Heritage Review, no adverse impact on the cultural heritage resources associated with the construction of Road P2 and other roads would be expected.

14.11 Environmental Monitoring and Audit

14.11.1 Environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) are recommended for construction dust monitoring, construction and operation noise, and water quality. Site inspection / audit is also recommended for waste management during construction and also for implementation of landscaping measures during operation. Details of the recommended mitigation measures, monitoring procedures and locations will be presented in a stand-alone EM&A Manual. This will enable the Contractor to have early warning and provide necessary action to reduce impacts at specific areas if the assessment criteria are approached. The effectiveness of on-site control measures could also be evaluated through the monitoring exercise. All the recommended mitigation measures should be incorporated into the EM&A programme for implementation.

14.12 Overall Conclusion

14.12.1 The EIA has been conducted and has been adequately addressed the environmental impacts of this Schedule 2 designated project. No outstanding issues were identified and hence further detailed EIA study was considered not necessary. The findings of this EIA have provided information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project. The EIA has, where appropriate, identified mitigation measures to ensure compliance with environmental legislation and standards.

14.12.2 Overall, the EIA Report for this DP has predicted that the Project will generally comply with the environmental standards and legislation after the proposed construction and operational stage mitigation measures are implemented. This EIA has also demonstrated the general acceptability of the residual impacts from the Project and the protection of the population and environmentally sensitive resources. Environmental monitoring and audit mechanisms have been recommended before and during construction and operation, where necessary, to verify the accuracy of the EIA predictions and the effectiveness of recommended mitigation measures.

14 CONCLUSION

14.1 Introduction

14.1.1 The Project is a designated project in accordance with Item A.1 of Part I of Schedule 2 of the EIAO, which specifies “Primary/district distributor roads”.

Landscape Impacts

Visual Impacts

Landscape Impacts

With implementation of mitigation measures The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be further enhanced by the proposed open space. Specific themes for the open spaces will be proposed to the waterfront from Central to Wan Chai.

14.2 Environmental Outcomes

Potential consequences without the Project:

14.3 Air Quality Impact

14.4 Noise Impact

14.4.2 A construction noise EM&A programme is recommended to check the compliance of the noise criteria during normal daytime working hours.

14.4.4 No direct noise mitigation measures are proposed for DP2, road traffic noise monitoring would not be considered necessary.

14.5 Water Quality Impacts

14.6 Waste Management Implications

14.6.3 With the implementation of the refuse collection system properly within the project area, no insurmountable environmental impact with regard to floating refuse would be anticipated during the construction phase, or after completion of the Project.

14.7 Land Contamination Impact

14.7.1 No potential contaminative land uses were identified within the Study Area. As such, no adverse land contamination impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project is expected.

14.8 Marine Ecological Impact

14.9 Landscape and Visual Impact

14.9.3 The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be further enhanced by the proposed open space. Specific themes for the open spaces will be proposed to the waterfront from Central to North Point.

14.10 Cultural Heritage Impact

14.10.2 Based on the findings of the Cultural Heritage Survey and the Cultural Heritage Review, no adverse impact on the cultural heritage resources associated with the construction of Road P2 and other roads would be expected.

14.11 Environmental Monitoring and Audit

14.12 Overall Conclusion