Skip to main content

Factsheets, Plans and Map, Review Report

Fact Sheet
History of Central Reclamation Phase III

Scope of CRIII

  • The need for the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation was first identified in the early 1980s. It was divided into five phases:
    (a) Central Reclamation Phase I (CRI)
    (b) Central Reclamation Phase II (CRII)
    (c) Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII)
    (d) Wan Chai Reclamation Phase I (WRI)
    (e) Wan Chai Development Phase II (WDII)
  • CRI, CRII and WRI were completed in 1997 and 1998.
  • CRIII is needed to provide land for essential transport infrastructure including the Central - Wan Chai Bypass (CWB), Road P2 Network and Airport Railway Extended Overrun Tunnel.
  • There is also a need to reprovision existing waterfront facilities (pumping stations providing cooling water for buildings in Central, the Star Ferry piers, Queen's Pier), which will be affected by the CRIII reclamation.
  • Also accommodated in CRIII will be a military berth for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), as agreed under the 1994 Sino-British Defence Land Agreement and the future North Hong Kong Island Line.
  • 18 hectares of land will be formed under CRIII. This is the minimum reclamation option resulting from extensive investigations and reconfirmed by recent reviews. This extent of reclamation was reflected in the Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) approved by the Chief Executive in Council in February 2000.
  • The extent of reclamation is determined by the transport infrastructure and the reprovisioned facilities. Land is not being reclaimed for commercial use. Since the CWB will be built underground from land formed within CRIII, the Town Planning Board has drawn up the layout and broad use of the reclaimed land in accordance with its mission to promote the health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the community.

Plan-making process

  • The CRIII has gone through a due process of statutory town planning procedures and public consultation, in which there was thorough public discussion on matters including the scale of reclamation and the use of the land made available by the project.
  • On 27 April 1998, the then Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, under the delegated power of the Chief Executive, directed the Town Planning Board (TPB) to prepare a new OZP for the Central Reclamation Phase III and its adjoining areas.
  • Subsequently, the draft Central District (Extension) OZP was exhibited for public inspection on 29 May 1998 in accordance with Section 5 of the Town Planning Ordinance (TPO). At that time, the draft OZP covered a proposed reclamation area of 38 hectares.
  • At the end of the two-month exhibition period, 70 valid objections were received, the majority of which were against the proposed scale of reclamation. After considering the objections, the TPB requested the Government to study ways to reduce the scale of reclamation. As a result, the area of reclamation was reduced to 23 hectares (i.e. the "minimum reclamation option") of which 18 hectares is covered in CRIII, while the remaining 5 hectares is under WDII.
  • The minimum reclamation option was presented to objectors at a TPB hearing on 30 March 1999 and was considered generally acceptable by them as a suitable basis for the planning of the reclamation.
  • After giving due consideration to the objections and the revised reclamation extent proposed by the Government, the TPB agreed to adopt the minimum reclamation option as the basis for preparing amendments to the draft OZP.
  • On 10 June 1999, the Government presented the minimum reclamation option to the Legislative Council Panel on Planning, Lands and Works, which generally accepted the scheme.
  • On 16 July 1999, the proposed amendments to the draft OZP (with the reclamation extent reduced from 38 to 23 hectares) were gazetted under section 6(7) of the TPO.
  • In mid-1999, the Government presented the amended draft OZP to the then Central & Western District Board and various professional bodies including the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Hong Kong Institute of Planners, Hong Kong Institute of Architects, Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects and the Real Estate Developers' Association of Hong Kong. They generally supported the minimum reclamation option.
  • On 22 February 2000, the amended draft OZP incorporating this option was approved by the Chief Executive in Council and gazetted as Central District (Extension) OZP No. S/H24/2 on 3 March 2000.
  • The Plan went through several changes in subsequent years with the current approved plan being Central District (Extension) OZP No. S/H24/6. However, apart from the incorporation of four piers, the extent of reclamation remains unchanged.

Authorization and funding approvals

  • Pursuant to the plan-making process, the Government duly proceeded with the authorization of the reclamation and surface road networks within CRIII under the Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations) Ordinance and Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance respectively in December 2001.
  • Relevant bodies including the Central & Western, Wan Chai and Eastern District Councils were consulted in March 2000 regarding the proposed CRIII works. They expressed no adverse comments.
  • As a designated project under Schedule 2 to the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, CRIII's environmental impact assessment report was endorsed by the Advisory Council on the Environment and approved by the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) in August 2001. An Environmental Permit for the CRIII works was issued by the DEP in March 2002.
  • The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved funding for CRIII's detailed design and construction on 28 April 2000 and 21 June 2002 respectively.

CRIII works

  • The CRIII works contract was awarded to Leighton-China State-Van Oord Joint Venture on 10 February 2003.
  • The contract commenced in February 2003 and was substantially completed in October 2011.

< Previous | Next >