Shek Kwu Chau incinerator maybe shelved

We hear that the previous government's proposed monster incinerator – which it suggested siting near the scenic island of Shek Kwu Chau – will not go ahead. It will be recalled that this controversial project involved building the incinerator on reclaimed land next to the island which is off south Lantau. The total project was expected to cost about HK$23 billion and was anticipated to handle a daily capacity of 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste.

When the Environmental Protection Department sought funding from the Legislative Council earlier this year, the project was shelved. However, there are a number of outstanding judicial reviews with respect to the project to be heard later this year. The original preferred site for the project was Tang Tsui near the landfill in Tuen Mun.

The project raised controversy after Donald Tsang's government decided that the political cost of locating it in Heung Yee Kuk leader Lau Wong Fat's fief was too great and Shek Kwu Chau "emerged" as the government's favoured location. Although it has been shelved, mysterious forces have been at work to advance the project. Groups such as the Hong Kong Islands District Association, a United Front organisation, was able to access government environmental funds to organise subsidised trips to Singapore and Taiwan to study incinerators. It is not known how the government proposes to deal with the problem of waste disposal.