The Civil Engineering & Development Department (CEDD) said it will start the environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies for the artificial islands in the Central Waters as it received three EIA study briefs from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today.

The study briefs covered the reclamation works for Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, developments on the artificial islands and connecting road links.

The EPD said it had strictly followed the requirements under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Technical Memorandum in preparing the study briefs, and duly considered the 293 sets of comments, including 17 from members of the Advisory Council on the Environment, received during the project profiles' public exhibition.

It had also made reference to previous study briefs and the implementation experiences of similar major infrastructural projects, such as the Expansion of Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-Runway System, Development of the Integrated Waste Facilities Phase 1, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link and Tung Chung New Town Extension, aiming to ensure that the EIA studies will cover all potential environmental issues.

Among the comments received, marine ecology and water quality impacts arising from the reclamation works are the main concerns, the EPD noted.

To address the concerns, the study brief for the reclamation for Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands requires the CEDD to conduct terrestrial and marine ecological baseline surveying for at least 12 months, covering areas to be reclaimed and 500m from the reclamation boundary, in order to ascertain the significance of the habitats and species within the study area.

The CEDD is also required to carry out modellings regarding the assessments for air quality, hydrodynamics and water quality.

The computer models should cover the proposed reclamation works and development areas, as well as regions and water bodies likely to be affected, so as to assess the cumulative air and water quality impacts arising from the projects together with other existing and planned developments.

Furthermore, the CEDD has to submit the EIA reports for the three projects in sequence, which can allow the cumulative impacts arising from the projects to be assessed systematically and support an orderly review of the reports by the EPD, the advisory council and the public.

For the concerns on issues such as climate change adaptation, carbon neutrality and biodiversity which are not within the scope of the existing ordinance, the EPD has also conveyed the views to the CEDD.

The CEDD said it will start the statutory EIA studies in accordance with the requirements stipulated in the study briefs and ensure compliance with the provisions in the ordinance and the technical memorandum.

It noted that public discussion could be focused on the environmental impacts brought about by the three projects and the corresponding mitigation measures during the course of the studies.

The CEDD will collectively consider the cumulative environmental impacts arising from the proposed projects and seek the EPD's approval on the EIA reports upon completion of the studies.

In view of the concerns from the advisory council and the public, the study team will also carry out in-depth studies on climate change adaptation, carbon neutrality and biodiversity issues. Relevant reports will be released after the studies are completed.