Hong Kong loosens rules for harbour reclamation

Hong Kong passed a law on Wednesday that made it easier for the government to create new land through reclamation in the city’s famed Victoria Harbour despite objections from environmental activists.

- 

Land reclamation was central to the Chinese city’s economic growth for decades but shifting public opinion since the 1990s led to stringent legal rules that required projects to establish an “overriding public need.” Officials called those rules “restrictive” and proposed a bill last year to fast-track smaller projects, while also giving the city’s leader more power over large-scale ones.

The bill will “enhance harbourfront areas for public enjoyment,” the development bureau said, adding that the government had no plans for large-scale reclamation in Victoria Harbour.