The Housing, Planning & Lands Bureau said an alternative reclamation plan proposed by the Society for Protection of the Harbour for the Central Reclamation III may not be technically viable.

Representatives of the society presented alternative reclamation plans during a meeting with the authorities on November 24.

The society claimed that the proposed scheme could reduce reclamation by 50%. But the Bureau's engineers pointed out a number of technical problems at the meeting.

Among the difficulties were the following:

* no information has been provided for the seawall;

* the seawall is close to the alignment of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass. No consideration has been given to the wave-absorbing design of the seawall and the reprovisioning of the pump houses which are now located along the existing shoreline;

* the reprovisioning of public piers/landing steps appears to be inadequate; and

* the proposal has not considered the work sequence on the implementation of the reclamation scheme.

The bureau will present its views on the proposed plan to the society.

Leaflet explains Government's stance

To better explain to the public the Government's stance on harbour reclamation, a bilingual leaflet "Our Harbour - Past, Present & Future" has been produced.

The bureau reiterated that "the Government treasures the harbour and will protect and preserve it as a special public asset of Hong Kong people".

The reclamation schemes in Central, Wan Chai North and Southeast Kowloon are the only reclamation schemes left inside the harbour, the bureau stressed.

Contractual obligation to deliver Central reclamation project

Of the three schemes, the Central reclamation is under way and the Government has a contractual obligation to deliver the project to meet essential transport needs.

The leaflet will be widely distributed to different sectors in the community, including the Legislative Council, District Offices, secondary and primary schools, youth centres, public libraries, professional bodies, green groups, port groups and the media.