A showdown is imminent over the government’s plan to expand major landfills as the Legislative Council public works subcommittee meets next week to vote on the proposals.
Mary Ma
Friday, June 21, 2013
A showdown is imminent over the government’s plan to expand major landfills as the Legislative Council public works subcommittee meets next week to vote on the proposals.
It’s a hurdle that environmental secretary Wong Kam-sing and his undersecretary Christine Loh Kung-wai must muster if the expansions are to be taken further – to the Finance Committee – for funding .
If blocked, the consequences can be scary – there would be no more room for garbage, no matter how much effort is put into reducing and recycling waste.
At stake are three strategic landfills. The first plan – and the most controversial due to its proximity to populated areas – involves the Tseung Kwan O landfill. The government is seeking HK$1.88 billion to expand it by 13 hectares to extend its lifespan by six years to 2023.
The other two plans call for HK$7 billion in funding to enlarge the Ta Kwu Ling landfill by 70 hectares to extend its life by 10 years to 2028, or HK$35 million for a study to increase the capacity of the Nim Wan landfill in Tuen Mun massively.
They are less controversial because of their remote locations.
Can Wong and Loh win the showdown? They could have submitted the three proposals as one. But they opted to have them voted on separately.
It’s a sensible approach, as it ensures that all of them won’t be lost in one go.
The Tseung Kwan O proposal draws the stiffest opposition, understandable in view of the nuisance factor. Many lawmakers – including some from the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions – have said they would vote against the plan.
But hopes have risen for passage. The minister may count on the biggest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and independents who had been non- committal.
The government is offering concessions: the Tseung Kwan O landfill would stop accepting smelly municipal waste, the number of garbage trucks passing through the new town would be halved, and workers would be deployed to monitor odor.
Politics is about bargaining. While the Ta Kwu Ling and Nim Wan landfills are in remote area, it doesn’t mean local politicians won’t demand benefits in exchange for their support.
The Tuen Mun District Council, for example, has apparently submitted a long list of 42 items. It wants a new rail link to Tsuen Wan, and a direct ferry service to Macau. Even repairs to leaking roofs of a mall and provision of ATM machines are on the list.
Call it compensation for the sacrifice that Tuen Mun is making. But they look more like ransom demands.
The North District is more restrained – it wants only 13 items, like expanded roads, libraries and swimming pools.
Wong is expected to announce the compensation decisions as early as today.
Will he and Loh survive the showdown, given the concessions?
We’ll know in a few days.