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Islands Islands in the Harbour include: Former islands (connected to adjacent lands or larger islands following land reclamation): Boundaries of the Harbour On the East: A straight line drawn from the westernmost extremity of Siu Chau Wan(小酒灣) point to the westernmost extremity of Ah Kung Ngam(阿公岩) point(sometimes known as Kung Am(公岩)) On the West: A straight line drawn from the westernmost point of Hong Kong Island to the westernmost point of Green Island(青洲),thence a straight line drawn from the westernmost point of Green Island to the southeasternmost point of Tsing Yi(青衣島), thence along the eastern and northern coastal lines of Tsing Yi to the westernmost extremity of Tsing Yi and thence a straight line drawn true north therefrom to the mainland History Recent developments After completion of the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation Feasibility Study in 1989, the Land Development Policy Committee endorsed a concept for gradual implementation of the reclamation. The reclamation consists of three district development cells separated by parks, namely, Central, Tamar and Exhibition. The latest proposed reclamation extends along the waterfront from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay faced public opposition, as the harbour has become a pivotal location to Hongkongers in general. Activists has denounced the government's actions as destructive not only to the natural environment, but also to what is widely considered as one of the most prized natural assets of the territory. NGOs, including the Society for Protection of the Harbour, were formed to resist further attempts to reduce the size of the waterbody, with its chairman, Christine Loh, quoted as saying that the harbour "...is a precious national asset and we must preserve it for future generations. I believe an insightful and visionary Chief Executive would support our stance and work with us to protect the harbour." * Tourism
Port facilities Victoria Harbour is home to most of the port facilities of Hong Kong, making Hong Kong amongst the world's busiest. An average of 220,000 ships visit the harbour each year, including both ocean going vessels and river vessels, for both goods and passengers. The Kwai Chung Container Terminals in the western part of the harbour is the main container handling facility, operating round the clock and handling about 62 percent of the 21,930 TEUs handled by the territory in 2004. Some 400 container liners serve Hong Kong weekly, connecting to over 500 destinations around the world. For many years until 2004, Hong Kong handled the most containers (measured by TEUs), but it faces competition from the ports in nearby Shenzhen in recent years, with the ports in Shenzhen combined handling more containers than the Kwai Chung terminals since August 2004 *. Overall, the Hong Kong port has also lost out to the Port of Singapore in containers handled, with the Singaporean port outpacing Hong Kong since the first quarter of 2005. Tunnels
Ferries The Star Ferry has been crossing the harbour since the late 1800s. The operated ferry routes today are: Central to Tsim Sha Tsui; Wanchai to Tsim Sha Tsui; Central to Hung Hom and Wan Chai to Hung Hom. Some other regular ferry services also operate in the harbour. The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company used to operate numerous cross-harbour routes between various piers of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Many of the routes are now operated by First Ferry. Some of the piers no longer exist because of reclamation projects, or many of the routes became unprofitable. Currently, the company continues to operate vehicular ferry services for vehicles carrying dangerous goods that are prohibited within tunnel crossings. For international passenger traffic and traffic to mainland China and Macau, there are two ferry terminals, namely Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, and a terminal for cruises, the Ocean Terminal. Another cruise terminal has been proposed. See also: Victoria Harbour crossings See also | ||||||||||||||
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