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1. Lok Ma Chau line may be finished six months ahead of schedule

2. Bridge will boost growth to the west

3. Water project will cost $44m - and just 300 people will benefit

4. Will Hong Kong take the lead in the delta's development?

1. Lok Ma Chau line may be finished six months ahead of schedule
CHEUNG CHI-FAI, SCMP 10 January 2003

The Lok Ma Chau spur line could be finished at least six months early, the chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation said yesterday.

Mr Tung said in his policy address that he hoped the $10 billion project could be speeded up to help the integration of Hong Kong with the Pearl River Delta.

The 7.4km line, stretching from Sheung Shui to the Lok Ma Chau border, will take passengers to a new border crossing point.

A 400-metre pedestrian bridge will link the new crossing to the proposed Huanggang station on the Shenzhen underground, scheduled to open by 2005. The new crossing is expected to divert some of the flow from the overcrowded Lowu checkpoint.

The new line will handle 150,000 passengers a day initially, rising to 300,000.

At the ground-breaking ceremony for the line yesterday, KCRC chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun said he expected it could be open by the end of 2006, six months ahead of schedule.

"We are very concerned with the rapid growth of cross-border traffic and we will do our best to implement the project. As we are using the most advanced tunnel-boring design, the completion date could be pushed to the end of 2006," he said.

Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung said the government would co-operate to speed up the project.

"It was hard to imagine how fast the growth of the Pearl River Delta five years ago would be. We really hope the project can be completed as early as possible," she said.

The line was delayed by about two years after the Environmental Protection Department rejected the project over fears that it would cause irreversible damage to the wetland ecology of Long Valley, which is a haven for bird life.

The KCRC later decided to spend an extra $2 billion to build a tunnel under the wetland.

But the Conservancy Association warned yesterday that the line could become a white elephant. It fears the line will be unable to sustain itself financially if the proposed Northern Link, connecting with West Rail in Yuen Long to the Lok Ma Chau border, goes ahead.

Dr Liao said the government was considering the feasibility of opening access at border checkpoints to other public transport, including the spur line rail terminal at Lok Ma Chau. But Mr Tien warned the changes would lead to fare rises as new competition was not expected when designing the rail project.

Legislators and transport and security officials will visit the Lok Ma Chau border crossing today to see whether taxis could be allowed to provide services to the restricted area.

2. Bridge will boost growth to the west
GARY CHEUNG, SCMP 10 January 2003

Cities on the west side of the Pearl River Delta are expected to enjoy up to 30 per cent more economic growth after the completion of a bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.

A study by the China Research and Development office at the Chinese University says Zhuhai's economy will expand an extra 20 to 29 per cent in the first year after the bridge opens.

The gross domestic product of Zhongshan, which is also on the west side of the delta and north of Zhuhai, is estimated to grow an extra 11 to 17 per cent.

The research office's chairman, Tuan Chyau, said the combined economic gains in the first year for the four cities on the west side of the delta, including Jiangmen and Shaoqing, would be three to four times the cost of building the bridge.

The estimated cost of the bridge proposal drafted by Hopewell Holdings chief Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, with an alignment similar to the Hong Kong government's proposed Y-shaped link to Macau and Zhuhai, is about $15 billion.

"Guangdong officials should appreciate the fact that the proposed bridge would bring enormous economic returns to the cities on the west of the delta," Professor Tuan said.

Guangdong Governor Lu Ruihua said last month the proposal needed careful study because it involved ecological problems.

Professor Tuan said the research team had not yet worked out the economic benefits for Hong Kong, saying they were waiting for statistics to be provided by the Census and Statistics Department.

The study is expected to be published next month.

The findings are based on the correlation between travelling time and investment.

The information was provided by about 30,000 foreign enterprises in the delta, of which 80 per cent are owned by Hong-Kong-based companies.

Professor Tuan said the bridge would drastically cut the time spent on travelling between the western part of the delta and Hong Kong.

"The travelling time between Zhuhai and Chek Lap Kok airport will be cut by 47 per cent," he said.

gary.cheung@scmp.com

3. Water project will cost $44m - and just 300 people will benefit
KEVIN SINCLAIR, SCMP 10 January 2003

Workers carry concrete through the deserted village of Kau Tam Tso. Asked how many people lived in villages through which the pipeline passed, the workers said: "Nobody". Picture by David Wong

Environmental groups are in uproar over another multimillion-dollar pipeline being carved through a country park to supply water to tiny rural communities.

The Water Supplies Department is cutting a pipeline across Plover Cove Country Park. Contractors are digging deep trenches alongside paths running from the village of Wu Kau Tang, where the vehicular road ends, to the shore of Crooked Harbour.

Stretches of vegetation four metres wide have been cleared alongside the paths.

Combined with a plan to supply water to two nearby islands, the project's cost comes to $44.2 million - and will provide water to just over 300 people.

The Plover Cove project follows an outcry from environmentalists over Water Supplies Department projects which have slashed swathes across Kau Sai Chau in Sai Kung and along paths through Sai Kung East Country Park.

Green groups protested that millions of dollars were being wasted taking mains water supplies to tiny or abandoned villages.

Marcus Shaw, local chairman of the World Wide Fund for Nature, called for early consultation before any work started in country parks. The group strongly endorsed departments presenting details of such "rural improvement" to interested parties.

Conservancy Association chief executive Gordon Ng Ting-leung wants officials to discuss work with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Country Park Board and green groups, before projects are approved. Contracts like the Plover Cove pipeline have a visual impact and are unfriendly to the environment.

"We're also concerned about how government uses its resources," Mr Ng said. "Why are they building pipelines in areas with such a sparse population? There are alternatives like tapping local streams and wells."

The track from Wu Kau Tang runs alongside a heavily wooded stream that provides nesting areas for migratory birds.

When a Post reporter and photographer walked down the scenic trail past the abandoned village of Kau Tam Tso recently, discarded building equipment and material littered parts of the excavations. There were steel railings laying around the path bearing signs saying they were being used on waterworks contracts by Gammon Construction and Tsin Yin Water Works Construction. The mess was cleaned up after questions were asked about the project.

The Plover Cove work comes under a Water Supplies Department contract for $24.7 million. The pipe runs from Luk Keng on Starling Inlet to Wu Kau Tang and then through the country park. A department spokesman said the work was designed to cater for 270 villagers - but inquiries revealed a population of only 135.

From there, another contract for $19.5 million carries mains water via underwater supply lines to the remote islands of Kat O Chau and Ap Chau. The department says this is for 560 people. But checks with villagers show that about 140 people live on Kat O and less than 40 on Ap Chau.

The spokesman said work would be finished by the end of this year. "One of the main objectives is to enhance the water quality and reliability of the supply to the two islands by replacing the raw water supply system. The untreated stream water supply may dry up in the dry seasons and the raw water pipes have deteriorated.

"The potable use of untreated water from such sources is considered to be unhygienic."

He said Water Supplies officers had consulted the EPD and the Country and Marine Parks Authority before the work began.

Li Lai, an indigenous villager of Wu Kau Tang, said about 100 people lived there; even the village representative has moved to Britain. He said residents used to get their water from the stream which flows through the valley, but it had become polluted by people throwing dead cats and dogs into the waterway.

The village of Kau Tam Tso has been deserted for more than a decade but about 35 mostly aged people still live in remote Lai Chi Wo. The village representative of Lai Chi Wo, Tsang Kee-yau, said the hamlet had for 300 years used pond water. That was still acceptable, he added.

David Man Tai-wai, chairman of Eco-Tourism Awareness Group, said the government was being too rigid and bureaucratic.

"Hong Kong citizens appreciate our beautiful natural landscape," Mr Man said. "They want to live in harmony with nature. Sustainable development concepts are indispensable.

"It's only right that when government agencies or anyone else is going to carry out projects in country parks, then environmental groups be consulted. We are not fanatics who want to stop all projects. But they can be done in a much more sensible manner that allows work to go on without devastating the landscape."

Questions on the project directed to the Financial Secretary, Antony Leung Kam-chung, Town Planning Board, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Lands Department and Planning Department went unanswered.

4. Will Hong Kong take the lead in the delta's development?
SCMP, 10 January 2003

Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has finally put the Pearl River Delta at the top of his policy agenda after 5.5 years in office. The crux of the matter now is whether Mr Tung's government will have the commitment and determination to translate the concept into action.

The private sector has long recognised the need for the special administrative region (SAR) to better integrate with neighbouring manufacturing bases. Unlike what many would believe, however, the economic potential of the delta and the role Hong Kong can play remains unknown to most foreign small and medium-sized enterprises.

The local economy has been on the decline since the handover of sovereignty. Hong Kong citizens are worried by high unemployment rates, negative equity, weak consumption and a global recession.

Citizens had expected the Tung administration to lead Hong Kong out of the doldrums through economic restructuring. The pace of globalisation has made the task even more daunting. Unfortunately, the government had neither the vision nor the vigour to rise to the challenge.

Mr Tung has eventually realised what many others already know by recognising the importance of the delta to the future of Hong Kong. Unlike his many other initiatives, there is already a broad consensus on the need to maximise Hong Kong's unique position in introducing the delta's capacities to foreign investors eager for cheaper and better means of production.

Those in the watches, footwear, textile, electronics and home appliances industries, in particular, might be lured to set up an operation in Hong Kong to tap into the delta. Hong Kong should leave the production process to the manufacturing bases in the delta, while seeking to take over all other supporting commercial activities.

Hong Kong, which is within three hours from any major city in the Pearl River Delta, can also serve as a bridge in terms of cultural and language differences.

It will be years before the mainland catches up with the SAR. Premier Zhu Rongji noted that the forces and methods to overcome Hong Kong's current problems are embedded in its own system. Hong Kong is equipped with a very open economy, a relatively sound legal system, a relatively efficient civil service and a large pool of high-calibre managers who are well connected to the rest of the world. It is a financial and trading hub of Asia and the world.

Mr Zhu is right. The Pearl River Delta concept is, in fact, just an extension of what Hong Kong has been doing well. China has already become the factory of the world. Fortune 500 companies have established footholds in the mainland. These companies are scattered across North America, Europe, Japan and the rest of the world. Hong Kong's problem of high unemployment would soon become a thing of the past if such companies each employed only a handful of workers here.

Officials, on the other hand, should organise the manufacturers in the delta region to showcase their products in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, an aggressive campaign should be mounted to invite prospective investors to come and see for themselves the possibilities on offer.

According to research by Professor Michael Enright, of the University of Hong Kong, and legal counsellor Edith Scott, there are currently 5,000 enterprises that have set up offices in Hong Kong because of the Pearl River Delta factor. This is set to become an irreversible trend, with or without official intervention. Given the right incentives and encouragement, the government can expedite the transformation.

Last month, Mr Tung made some breakthroughs during his official visit to Beijing. The central government has given its blessing for the administration to go ahead with measures to foster closer ties with the mainland. Mr Tung's policy address sought to position Hong Kong at the head of the delta region. To realise this, authorities will have to redouble their efforts. Large-scale promotions are needed to draw worldwide attention. The government should consider launching a two-year Pearl River Delta expo ahead of the Disney theme park's opening, scheduled for 2005.

To prevent officials dragging their heels again, an inter-departmental task force, led by a policy minister should be appointed to map out an action plan. The working panel should comprise secretaries from the various bureaus, the head of Invest Hong Kong, representatives from quasi-governmental bodies such as the Trade Development Council, as well as chambers of commerce, federations of industries and professional services bodies.

Hong Kong's problems can be boiled down to a lack of confidence. The government must show a strong conviction in leading the community to this viable common goal. To borrow a Chinese metaphor, all the right ingredients for the dish are there. We just need the chef to put them in the wok.

Albert Cheng King-hon (taipan@staff.36.com) is a broadcaster and publisher.