More than 135,000 people will live in 50,000 flats to be built on what is presently identified as Area 137 - a 101-hectare spread next to the landfill in Tseung Kwan O - despite opposition.
The number will include 93,000 people in 34,000 public housing flats, the Development Bureau revealed. That comes with housing in the area being split between public and private housing at a ratio of 70:30.
Construction will begin in 2025, though 80 hectares have already been made ready for development while around 20 hectares are coming from reclamation.
The Standard Channel
The bureau expects to complete the reclamation in 2028, with the first 34,000 residents moving into 12,600 apartments in 2030.
"The area, as large as four Taikoo Shings, will be constructed and planned around transport infrastructure, ancillary facilities and a green and livable environment," a bureau spokesman said.
To make way for housing development at Area 137 the bureau has also proposed to set up public facilities in Area 132 - another plot in the district.
The bureau will also have to prepare another 25 hectares of land off the coast of Area 132 through reclamation and slope-cutting to accommodate the relocation of a public fill transfer facility and a concrete batching plant from Area 137.
The 25-hectare plot will also accommodate four facilities that require close proximity to the sea: a construction waste handling facility, a refuse transfer station, a marine refuse collection point, and an electricity facility connecting renewable power sources in the mainland to the local grid - the first of its kind in the SAR.
The power facility will also enhance use of zero-carbon energy and help the SAR move toward the administration's target of reducing carbon emissions by 50 percent before 2035 and being carbon neutral by 2050.
The proportion of land being produced through reclamation may be reduced depending on how much land can be prepared through slope-cutting, the spokesman added.
"The coastal facilities at Area 132 are in a relatively obscure area, with a buffer distance of around one kilometer from the nearest residential block in the district," he added.
On transportation infrastructure, another two hectares of land must be reclaimed to construct an undersea tunnel for the Tseung Kwan O Line's southern extension, which will link Area 137 with Lohas Park.
High-density housing development projects will be clustered around the railway station proposed for the center of Area 137 and be within a walking distance of 500 meters for more than two thirds of the population there.
A community park and a commercial hub will also connect to the station.
Residents in Lohas Park - the largest residential development project in Tseung Kwan O - are opposed to reclamation work in the area, being concerned the process along with work for the rail line will create disturbances.
They are also concerned that the power and waste management facilities will be too close to residential areas.
But the spokesman said the bureau has taken into account the views of local residents opposed to reclamation, saying planners had reduced significantly the amount of reclamation. But he maintained some reclaimed land is "essential" to reinforce the underwater rail facilities.
