1.1.1.1
West Kowloon Cultural District
(WKCD) is an arts and cultural facilities (ACF) building programme
which aims to deliver new performance and visual arts venues, museums, open
spaces, education resources, commercial and retail opportunities for the
residents of Hong Kong and visitors from overseas. The related works include a mainly 2-lane
flyover (including approaching roads) across the toll plaza of Western Harbour Tunnel (Austin Road Flyover).
1.1.1.2
As raised by Members of
District Council in the Yau Tsim
Mong District Council Meeting in November 2014,
traffic leaving WKCD to Austin Road West Roundabout and Nga Cheung Road Flyover
would add significant burden on the capacity of these road networks, which are
already congested with traffic at the moment. As such, the Revised Austin Road Flyover
from WKCD should be proposed to allow access to the section of Lin Cheung Road
running in parallel to the West Kowloon Highway (Route 3) aiming to divert
traffic from Nga Cheung Road Flyover and Austin Road West Roundabout. The location plan of the Revised Austin
Road Flyover is shown in Figure
1.1.
1.1.1.3
The Revised Austin Road Flyover
(The Project) integrates the proposed exit road with the proposed Flyover. The proposed exit road would connect the
service road of West Kowloon Highway (Route 3 – Western Harbour
Crossing Tunnel Area). Other than
providing connection from WKCD to adjacent local roads, the Revised Flyover
provides an additional single road way to alleviate
the traffic from the WKCD to the West Kowloon Highway.
1.2.1.1
A Project Profile (No.
PP-580/2019) was submitted to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) on
4 April 2019 for application for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study
Brief under section 5(1)(a) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance
(EIAO) and the EIA Study Brief No. ESB-316/2019 for the Project was issued on
16 May 2019 under the EIAO.
1.2.1.2
During the course of the
Project development, a refined ramp alignment for the Austin Road Flyover was
developed which is slightly longer then the schematic design in the Project
Profile, resulting in an enlargement of the Project Boundary (total area from
approximately 34,000 m2 to 44,100 m2) as presented in Figure 1.2. The existing scope of issues covered in
the EIA Study Brief including air quality impact, noise impact, water quality
impact, waste management implications, land contamination and landscape and
visual impacts are considered sufficient to cover the potential environmental
impacts due to the latest design of the Project. In addition, the revised Project Boundary
would not cover any manufacture, storage, use or transport of dangerous goods,
cultural heritages, sites of conservation importance, or seabed, foreshores and
fish ponds.
No additional issues such as hazard to life, cultural heritage, ecology
and fisheries are anticipated under the revised Project Boundary. Revision of Project Boundary was
confirmed with EPD in accordance with Section 6.2 of EIA Study Brief and the
confirmation letter is presented in Appendix 4.1.
1.2.1.3
The Project is classified as a
Designated Project (DP) under
|
Item
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|
Description
|
Remarks
|
|
Item A.1, Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO
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–
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A road which is an expressway, trunk
road, primary distributor road or district distributor road including new
roads, and major extensions or improvements to existing roads
|
The proposed exit road is a district distributor.
|
|
Item A.8, Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO
|
–
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A road or railway bridge more than 100 m
in length between abutments
|
The distance between two abutments of the proposed exit road is
about 400m.
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|
|
|
|
|
1.3
Purpose of the EIA Study
1.3.1.1
The purpose of the EIA Study is
to provide information on the nature and extent of the environmental impacts
arising from construction and operation of the Project and associated works
that will 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
against adverse environmental consequences wherever practicable; and
·
the acceptability of residual
impacts after the proposed mitigation measures are implemented.
1.4.1.1
The objectives of the EIA study
as stated in the EIA Study Brief are as follows:
(i)
to describe the Project and
associated works together with the requirements and environmental benefits for
carrying out the Project;
(ii) 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;
(iii) to identify and quantify emission sources and determine the
significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;
(iv) to propose the provision of infrastructure or mitigation measures so as to minimise pollution, environmental disturbance and
nuisance during construction and operation of the Project;
(v) to investigate the feasibility, effectiveness and implications of
the proposed mitigation measures;
(vi) to identify, predict and evaluate the residual (i.e. after
practicable mitigation) environmental impacts 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;
(vii) 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 residual environmental impacts and
cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels;
(viii) to design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit
requirements;
(ix) to identify any additional studies necessary to implement the
mitigation measures or monitoring and proposals recommended in the ElA report
1.5.1.1
The background of the project,
purpose and objectives of this Report are introduced in this section. A description of the Project and details
of options consideration are provided in Section 2. Sections 3 to 8 detail the results of
the environmental impact assessment of each key subject area, covering relevant
legislation, environmental conditions, assessment criteria, methodology, and
assessment findings.
1.5.1.2
Sections 3 to 8 are outlined as
follows:
·
Section 3: Air Quality Impact
·
Section 4: Noise Impact
·
Section 5: Water Quality Impact
·
Section 6: Waste Management
Implication
·
Section 7: Land Contamination
·
Section 8: Landscape and Visual
Impact
1.5.1.3
An outline of the requirements
for the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) programme
is presented in Section 9. The
EM&A programme is presented in detail in a
separate EM&A Manual. A
detailed implementation schedule of the recommended mitigation measures is
provided in Section 9. A summary of
environmental outcomes and conclusions is presented in Section 10.
1.5.1.4
This EIA Report consists of the
following booklets:
·
Volume 1 of 3 – Main Text (This
booklet)
·
Volume 2 of 3 – Figures
·
Volume 3 of 3 – Appendices
1.5.1.5
An Executive Summary has been
prepared as a separate document in both Chinese and English, which contains
summaries of the key findings, recommendations and conclusions of the EIA
Report.