The Hong Kong Government Forced Tenants to Move Out of an Industrial Area Next to the Wetlands for Property Development

A site in Yuen Long Innovation Park leased by KMB for bus parking and refueling has been requested by the Hong Kong government to be returned in the third quarter of next year.

 The area had previously been used for daily operations such as fueling, cleaning, checking equipment, and maintenance for approximately 400 buses. The Lands Department said that the non-renewal of the contract is in line with the government’s development of industrial zones. It is reported that KMB leased the site in 2015 and spent about $50 million on environmental and traffic impact assessment, design and construction, etc.

 The Yuen Long Innovation Park, formerly known as Yuen Long Industrial Estate, began operation in 1983 and is managed by the Hong Kong government department. The site is being used to provide cheap and substantial land to overseas and domestic manufacturers to promote local manufacturing in Hong Kong.

 After the reunification of Hong Kong, the current Hong Kong government has no intention to consolidate the local manufacturing industry and proposes a plan to develop high-tech industries. In 2021, the industrial zone was renamed the Yuen Long Innovation Park to “promote re-industrialization and develop advanced manufacturing.”