1 Introduction

1.1 Project Background

1.1.1 The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) and the Planning Department (PlanD) jointly commissioned the Ngau Tam Mei (NTM) Land Use Review Study (the Study) in November 2021 to capitalise on the development opportunities to be brought about by the NTM Station on the proposed Northern Link (hereinafter referred to as “NOL Main Line”). The Study aims to examine the comprehensive development of the brownfield clusters in NTM, which was subsequently extended to cover a nearby site as identified under the “Green Belt” Review announced in the 2022 Policy Address for holistic planning (hereinafter referred to as “the Project”); to ascertain the feasibility and acceptability of the Project with technical assessments including the statutory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); to formulate a Recommended Outline Development Plan (RODP); and to conduct public engagement (PE) for increasing awareness and engagement among stakeholders.

1.1.2 The Northern Metropolis Action Agenda (NMAA) promulgated in October 2023 outlines the development positioning of four major zones in the Northern Metropolis (NM). Amongst them, the Innovation and Technology (I&T) Zone covers San Tin Technopole (STT) and NTM. STT will be a hub for clustered I&T development, creating synergy with the Shenzhen I&T Zone. Upon completion of the proposed NOL Main Line in 2034, NTM will only be one station away from STT. It is stated in NMAA that land will be reserved in NTM for use of post-secondary education institutions, with a focus on scientific research to complement the I&T development in STT, promoting “research, academic and industry” collaboration.

1.1.3 The 2024 Policy Address announced to reserve land in the NM for the “Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT)”, and encourage local post‑secondary education institutions to introduce more branded programmes, research collaboration and exchange projects with renowned Mainland and overseas institutions in a flexible and innovative manner. It is also stated in the 2024 Policy Address that, land will be reserved in NTM for developing the third medical school and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital (hereinafter referred to as “Integrated Hospital”). As announced in the 2025 Policy Address, a Working Group on Planning and Construction of the University Town (WG) will be set up under the Committee on Development of the NM, to study the development mode for the NMUT and make recommendations on the positioning and vision regarding the development of NMUT sites to devise a clear, industry-led approach. The land in NTM can dovetail with the overall I&T development of the STT and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP) at the Loop, among others, life and health technology industries, and to be used for joint development with the third medical school and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital. The design and implementation of the UniTown will be duly considered by the Education Bureau under the steer of the WG.

1.1.4 A 2-month PE was conducted between 14 November 2024 and 13 January 2025 to solicit public views on a Broad Land Use Concept Plan developed under the Study. Taking into account the public views collected in the PE, policy directives, planning and engineering considerations, technical assessments as well as departmental advice, a RODP for the NTM New Development Area (NDA) has been formulated.

1.1.5 Locations of the Project Site (including the proposed works sites/areas) and the Development Area are shown in Figure 1.1. Located to the south of STT and to the northeast of Yuen Long New Town, the total area of Development Area covers about 130 ha and is currently occupied by Yau Tam Mei Tsuen, scattered brownfield operations, farmland/fishponds, chicken farm, permitted burial grounds, etc. The Project comprises mainly educational institutions, hospital, other government, institution and community (GIC) facilities, housing, as well as the associated infrastructure works (e.g. road networks, sewage pumping station (SPS), etc.).

1.1.6 The NTM Station, the depot and the associated railway facilities under the NOL Main Line within the Project Site will be implemented by another project proponent (i.e. MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL)), thus the construction and operation of these railway facilities are not part of this Project. The associated environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the NOL Main Line were assessed in its approved EIA report (Register No.: AEIAR-259/2024).

1.2 The Project

1.2.1 The proposed scope of the Project includes the following principal works elements to support the development of NTM NDA as shown in Figure 1.1, with details of Project’s works discussed in Section 2.

Site Formation and Engineering Infrastructure Works

(a) Site formation works including slope cutting and filling and retaining wall installation;

(b) Engineering infrastructure works comprising roads including district distributor roads, local roads, drainage works including revitalisation works for Ngau Tam Mei Drainage Channel (NTMDC), sewerage provision including a SPS and other utilities works to support the proposed development of the Project;

(d) Provision of environmental mitigation measures for the works mentioned above.

Other Works

(a) Developments including GIC facilities, residential development, schools, electrical substations and other facilities to support the proposed development of the Project.

1.3 EIA Study Brief

1.3.1 A Project Profile (PP) (No. PP-659/2023) for the Project based on an area of about 129 ha identified in the earlier stage of the Study was submitted to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) on 9 November 2023 for application for an EIA Study Brief under Section 5(1)(a) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO). An EIA Study Brief No. ESB-363/2023 was subsequently issued on 20 December 2023.

1.3.2 Refinements have been made to the Development Area in view of the latest infrastructure / transportation network designs, as well as to avoid encroachment on existing and/or planned interfacing developments (e.g. planned NM Highway). As a result, the Development Area was increased from about 129 ha to 130 ha.

1.4 Recommended Outline Development Plan

1.4.1 The RODP for the NTM NDA has been formulated taken into consideration of the public views collected on the Broad Land Use Concept Plan in the PE, policy directives, planning and engineering considerations, technical assessments as well as departmental advice. Further details of the RODP are elaborated in Section 2.

1.5 Designated Project under EIAO

1.5.1 The Development Area, covering an area of about 130 ha, constitutes a Designated Project (DP) by virtue of Item 1 under Schedule 3 of the EIAO:

· Item 1 – An urban development or redevelopment project covering an area of more than 50 ha.

1.5.2 In addition, the Project also constitutes DPs under Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO, which are listed in Table 1.1 and illustrated in Figure 1.2. Details of the scope of each DP element are discussed in Section 2.4.5.

Table 1.1 Schedule 2 Designated Projects Under the Project

Ref. No.	Schedule 2 Designated Project		Work Component / Reference in RODP
DP1	Item A.1	A carriageway for motor vehicles that is an expressway, trunk road, primary distributor road or district distributor road	Construction and operation of district distributor road (Road D1) and associated road works at San Tin Highway
DP2	Item I.1(b)	A drainage channel or river training and diversion works located less than 300 m from the nearest boundary of an existing or planned conservation area	Part of Revitalisation of Ngau Tam Mei Drainage Channel and river diversion works located less than 300 m from the nearest boundary of an existing conservation area

1.5.3 The Schedule 2 DP elements listed in Table 1.2 were identified in the PP and the Study Brief of the Project. However, the Project no longer constitutes DP Items F.1, F.2 and H.1, Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO due to the update of Project scope.

Table 1.2 Schedule 2 Designated Projects Not Under the Project

Schedule 2 Designated Projects in the Project Profile and Study Brief		Relevant Work Component
Item F.1	Sewage treatment works with an installed capacity of more than 15,000 m³ per day	Only SPS and sewerage provided
Item F.2	Sewage treatment works with an installed capacity of more than 5,000 m³ per day; and a boundary of which is less than 200 m from the nearest boundary of an existing or planned (i) residential area; (ii) place of worship; (iii) educational institution; (iv) health care institution; (v) site of special scientific interest; (vi) site of cultural heritage; (vii) bathing beach; (viii) marine park or marine reserve; (ix) fish culture zone; or (x) seawater intake point	Only SPS and sewerage provided
Item H.1	A 400 kV electricity substation and transmission line	Only two 132 kV electricity substations proposed

1.5.4 Apart from the Schedule 2 DP elements presented in Table 1.1 above, there are a number of non-DP elements in the RODP as summarised in Table 1.3. Details of Project’s elements are presented in Section 2.4.3 with their locations shown in Figure 2.1.

Table 1.3 Summary of Non-Designated Projects Under the Project

Non-Designated Project	Sub-Element
Education	University Town (Post-secondary Education Use)
	Primary School
	Secondary School
GIC Facilities	Integrated Hospital
	Ambulance Depot
	Community Recycling Centre
	Electricity Substations
	Fire Station and Departmental Staff Quarters
	Indoor Sports Centre
	Library
	Refuse Collection Points
	Sewage Pumping Station
	Staff Quarters
Residential Development	Private Housing
Residential Development	Dedicated Rehousing Estate
Open Space	Recreational Facilities and Landscaping
Amenity	Roadside Amenity
Green Belt	-
Other Specified Uses	Other Specified Uses (Railway Depot with Commercial/Residential Development)
Other Specified Uses	Other Specified Uses (Railway Depot with Public Open Space)
Road	Local Roads

1.5.5 If there are any future change(s) of the Project after the approval of this EIA Report, the following steps will be taken:

(a) Should the change(s) involve a DP item under Schedule 2 of the EIAO, the requirements under the EIAO will be complied with; and

(b) Should the change(s) not involve any DP items under Schedule 2 of the EIAO, prevailing planning mechanisms and standards will be followed and relevant EIA findings will be conformed to.

1.6 Purpose of the EIA Study

1.6.1 The purpose of this EIA study is to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation stages of the Project and associated activities that will take place concurrently. The information will contribute to decisions by the Director of Environmental Protection on:

(a) the overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences that are likely to arise as a result of the Project;

(b) the conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate against adverse environmental consequences wherever practicable; and

1.7 Objectives of this EIA Study

1.7.1 The objectives of this EIA study as stated in the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-363/2023) are as follows:

(a) to describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements and environmental benefits for carrying out the Project;

(b) to identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the Project, including both the natural and man-made environment and the associated environmental constraints;

(c) to identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses, and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(d) to identify and quantify any potential impacts from point and non-point pollution sources on the identified water systems and sensitive receivers and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(e) to identify and quantify potential waste management requirements and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(f) to identify and quantify contaminated land within the Project area, and to propose measures to avoid disposal in the first instance;

(g) to identify, evaluate and address any potential ecological impacts arising from the Project and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(h) to identify and quantify the fisheries impacts and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(i) to identify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(j) to identify any negative impacts on cultural heritage and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(k) to identify potential hazard to life impacts and to propose mitigation measures to mitigate these impacts;

(l) to identify any impacts from electric and magnetic fields and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(m) to propose the provision of infrastructure or mitigation measures so as to minimise pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during the construction and operation stages of the Project;

(n) to investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of the proposed mitigation measures;

(o) to identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the construction and operation phases of the Project in relation to the sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;

(p) to identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project which are necessary to mitigate these residual environmental impacts and cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels;

(q) to investigate the extent of the secondary environmental impacts that may arise from the proposed mitigation measures and to identify constraints associated with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA study, as well as the provision of any necessary modification;

(r) to design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements;

(s) to identify any additional studies necessary to implement the mitigation measures and proposals recommended in the EIA report; and

(t) to identify DP(s) listed under Schedule 2 of the EIAO as part of the Project for assessment under the EIA study.

1.8 Structure of the EIA Report

1.8.1 The background of the Project, purpose and objectives of this EIA study are introduced in this section. Description of the Project and details of options consideration are provided in Section 2. Sections 3 to 15 detail the results of the environmental impact assessment of each key subject area, covering relevant legislation, environmental conditions, assessment criteria, methodology, and assessment findings.

1.8.2 Sections 3 to 15 are outlined as follows:

· Section 3: Air Quality Impact

· Section 4: Noise Impact

· Section 5: Water Quality Impact

· Section 6: Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Implications

· Section 7: Waste Management Implications

· Section 8: Land Contamination

· Section 9: Ecological Implication (Terrestrial and Aquatic)

· Section 10: Fisheries Impact

· Section 11: Landscape and Visual Impact

· Section 12: Impact on Cultural Heritage

· Section 13: Hazard to Life

· Section 14: Landfill Gas Hazard

· Section 15: Impact from Electric and Magnetic Field

1.8.3 An outline of the requirements for the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) programme with detailed implementation schedule of the recommended mitigation measures is presented in Section 16. The EM&A programme is presented in detail in a separate EM&A Manual. A summary of environmental outcomes is provided in Section 17. Conclusion is presented in Section 18.

Figure 1.1	Project Location Plan
Figure 1.2	Locations of Designated Projects