Press Releases

“Designing Hong Kong Harbour District”
Urges LegCo to Consider Holistic Planning
in New Building Discussion

(26 February 2004, Thursday) HONG KONG ---- The newly established initiative, ‘Designing Hong Kong Harbour District’ has sent a letter to the LegCo President Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai this Tuesday, asking Members to consider the need for holistic planning of the entire Harbour District when they discuss the construction of a new LegCo building with Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen at the House Committee meeting tomorrow.

The government earlier announced the decision to defer the Tamar development project which comprises a new Central Government Complex and a new LegCo Complex. However, speaking after the LegCo Commission meeting last Wednesday, the President Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai urged the government to reopen the issue and solve the Council's capacity problem. The Tamar site, the Star Ferry and City Hall site, as well as the Two IFC (International Finance Centre) northern site are all possibilities for a new LegCo Building welcomed by Members.

‘'Designing Hong Kong Harbour District’ fully appreciates that LegCo’s increasing work load demands new facilities. Being a new community initiative to call for an integrated plan and public consultation process for the entire Hong Kong Harbour District, the two core organizers, Christine Loh and Paul Zimmerman have written to Mrs Fan and urge that Members of LegCo, when they discuss the matter in the upcoming House Committee, that they bear in mind the need for holistic planning of the entire Harbour District, of which the Tamar site is a part. To minimize delays, they also recommend that a genuine public consultation process is implemented as soon as possible.

In the letter, Loh and Zimmerman also invite the House Committee to consider asking a legislator representative to meet them so that they can present some of the upcoming events being planned by the initiative, including public forum and conference being held between March and May to discuss where to site what sort of facilities to maximize the use of the Harbour District as a whole.

‘Designing Hong Kong Harbour District’ is organizing a series of consensus building activities, including a briefing lunch for key stakeholders in mid-March, a Public forum on May 2 and a Conference on May 3.

More information on the initiative is available on www.friendsoftheharbour.org/designHKHD.html.

For press enquiries, please contact:
Ms Loretta Chang, 2234 6424 / 6446 1513, loretta@bbluesky.com
Ms Helen Li, 2234 6424 / 9735 0164, pilot@bbluesky.com