Shu Tin facility to be relocated

Transfer will free 28 hectares for housing.

Hong Kong's Drainage Services Department is considering relocating the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works to mountain caverns to achieve this aim. A study to this effect is ongoing and should be completed by mid-2014.

The department is also exploring upgrading sewage treatment facilities and adopting an advanced sewage treatment system.

The engineering feasibility study includes preliminary technical and impact assessments, preparation of outline design for the engineering works and formulation of implementation strategies and programs.

The Sha Tin sewage facility covers 28 hectares and was commissioned in 1982. The service area includes Sha Tin and Ma On Shan, covering about 630,000 people.

The relocation is part of a long-term plan for Sha Tin, which requires maintenance and updating to a higher scale.

The government said it will continue to increase land supply and has started public engagement exercises to plan for new development areas, including a proposal to develop caverns, in the long-term interest of Hong Kong. The project has an allocation of US$38.7 million.