The Environmental Safety Division (EPD) on Friday mentioned it has given conditional approval to the environmental examine right into a plan to show fish ponds within the northern New Territories right into a know-how hub.
The division’s director, Samuel Chui, mentioned the environmental affect evaluation on the San Tin Technopole challenge took under consideration a lot of ecological survey findings, and officers didn’t obtain any suggestions regarding points the report didn’t cowl.
“The report is scientific, skilled and complete. And it does not underestimate the ecological worth of the realm being studied,” he advised reporters.
Chui added that amendments to the report submitted by the Civil Engineering and Growth Division (CEDD), comparable to birds’ names and photographs in addition to a draft plan to create habitats for animals, didn’t have an effect on the effectiveness of the examine.
He mentioned circumstances for the approval embody that the CEDD has to submit detailed designs for the challenge and that it should chorus from filling in fish ponds within the space earlier than creating a brand new one in a conservation park.
Chui mentioned the CEDD additionally must arrange a panel, consisting of inexperienced group members and authorities representatives, to observe the event’s affect on the atmosphere.
“The committee will work collectively to present the very best environmental safety,” he mentioned. “Identical to this time, we’ve heard many proposals and we are going to focus on and discover one of the best ways to guard the atmosphere and in addition to preserve the species and the ecology within the space.”
Chui mentioned the CEDD is taking measures to guard Eurasian Otters, a species of conservation significance. The animals have been recorded again in 2019, however weren’t discovered throughout a current ecological survey.
He mentioned the division is adopting ideas from inexperienced teams on constructing passages for the otters, in addition to enhancing the design of buildings so birds won’t crash into them.
The Growth Bureau, for its half, welcomed the approval, saying it offers a stable basis for the federal government to proceed with the following stage of the city planning course of and begin the challenge as scheduled.
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