1.                   INTRODUCTION

Project Background

1.1               On 5 January 2007, following the decision of the Executive Council in January 2006, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) was requested to proceed with further planning of the proposed Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), which is an express rail link connecting Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. It aims to provide a fast and convenient railway service linking the three places.

1.2               The Hong Kong section of the XRL will be a 26-km long underground rail line on a dedicated track that runs from the terminus in West Kowloon to the boundary at Huanggang, where it will connect with the XRL Mainland section. The two termini of the XRL will be at West Kowloon in Hong Kong and Shibi in Guangzhou. Intermediate stations include Futian and Longhua in Shenzhen and Humen in Dongguan.

1.3               The decision of adopting the Dedicated Corridor Option for the Hong Kong section of the XRL was announced by the Chief Executive after the Tenth Plenary of the Hong Kong / Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference on 2 August 2007.

1.4               The Hong Kong section of the XRL is one of the priority railways recommended for implementation in the Railway Development Strategy 2000[1]. It is one of the ten major infrastructure projects announced in the 2007 Policy Address.

1.5               In April 2008, the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) Government gave permission for the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC) to proceed with further planning and design of the Hong Kong section of the XRL.  MTRC therefore commenced to plan and design the Hong Kong Section of XRL (hereinafter referred to “the Project”). 

1.1               The Project covers the following designated project (DP) elements as specified under A.2, A.4, A.7 and Q.1 in Schedule 2 Part 1 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) (Cap. 499):

·        A railway and its associated station;

·        A railway siding and maintenance workshop;

·        A railway tunnel more than 800m in length between portals; and

·        Project includes works partly or wholly in a country park or special area, a conservation area, and a site of special scientific interest.

1.2               An application for an EIA Study Brief was made to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the EIA Study Brief No. ESB–197/2008 (ESB) for the Project has been issued under the EIAO. 

1.3               AECOM Asia Co. Ltd. (Integrating the operation of ENSR Asia (HK) Limited) has been commissioned by the MTRC, the Project Proponent, to undertake the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study of the Project.

Objectives of the EIA Study

1.4               The purpose of the EIA Study is to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project and associated mitigation, and related activities that take place concurrently. This information will contribute to decisions on:

§         the overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences that are likely to arise as a result of the Project;

§         the conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate adverse environmental consequences whether practicable; and

§         the acceptability of residual impacts after the proposed mitigation measures is implemented.

1.5               The EIA study has been conducted and completed in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Study Brief under the EIAO (ESB-197/2008) and the guidelines on assessment methodologies provided in Annexes 12 to 19 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (hereinafter referred to as the EIAO-TM).  The EIA Report has been prepared as follows:

§         to describe the Project, associated works, and any option(s) of alignment together with the requirements and environmental benefits for carrying out the Project;

§         to identify any other individual Designated Project under Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO to be covered in the Project to ascertain whether the findings of this EIA Study have adequately addressed the environmental impacts of these projects;

§         to identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the Project, including both the natural and man-made environment and the associated environmental constraints to and by the Project;

§         to describe the alternative option(s) considered and the constraints leading to the selection of the proposed alignment; locations of the terminus, ventilation buildings, adits, stabling sidings and emergency rescue station; locations and size of work sites and underground work construction methods; to describe the comparative benefit(s) and dis-benefit(s) of the alternative option(s) ; to provide reasons for selecting the preferred option(s) for the above; and to describe the part environmental factors played in the whole selection process.

§         to identify and assess noise impacts, ecological impacts, water quality impacts, landscape and visual impacts, hazard to life, waste management implications, fisheries impacts, air quality impacts and impacts on sites of cultural heritage, and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;

§         to identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;

§         to identify and quantify waste management requirements and land contamination prevention requirements, and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;

§         to identify and quantify contaminated land within any project area for development works, and to propose measures to avoid disposal in the first instance;

§         to identify and quantify any potential ecological impacts to flora, fauna and natural habitats and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;

§         to identify and quantify any potential fisheries impacts arising from the construction and operation of the project, and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;

§         to identify any negative impacts on sites of cultural heritage, historic buildings and structures and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;

§         to identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;

§         to propose the provision of infrastructure or mitigation measures so as to minimize pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during construction and operation of the Project;

§         to investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of the proposed environmental mitigation measures or infrastructure;

§         to identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the construction and operational phases of the Project 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 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 the provision of any necessary modification; and

§         to design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure the implementation and effectiveness of the recommended environmental protection and pollution control measures.

Report Structure

1.6               This EIA Report comprises eighteen sections, as outlined below:

§         Section 1 presents the introduction of this EIA Study.

§         Section 2 presents a description of the Project, including alternative options considered for the Project. 

§         Section 3 assesses potential ecological impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 4 assesses potential fisheries impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 5 identifies and assesses potential airborne noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 6 identifies and assesses potential ground-borne noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 7 identifies and assesses potential landscape and visual impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 8 assesses potential impacts on cultural heritage arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 9 identifies and assesses issues in relation to potential land contamination.

§         Section 10 assesses potential impacts associated with waste generation during construction and operation of the project.

§         Section 11 assesses potential water quality impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 12 assesses potential air quality impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 13 identifies and assesses potential hazards associated with the use of explosives during construction of the Project.

§         Section 14 identifies and assesses potential landfill gas hazards associated with the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 15 identifies and assesses potential impacts on the restored Ngau Tam Mei Landfill associated with the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 16 highlights the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements.

§         Section 17 presents the overall conclusion and summary of environmental outcomes.

§         Section 18 presents an Implementation Schedule of recommended mitigation measures for various environmental issues.

 



[1] The Railway Development Strategy 2000 maps out the preferred railway network expansion plan for Hong Kong up to 2016.