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Tin Shui Wai New Town is located in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong. Originally a ''gei wai'' fish pond area, it was developed in the 1980s as the second new town in Yuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong. It is situated 25 kilometres due northwest of Central, Hong Kong on land reclaimed from low lying areas south of Deep Bay, next to historic Ping Shan. As of 2014, the new town had a population of 292,000, while the total projected population for when the town is fully built-out is about 306,000. ==History== The land on which Tin Shui Wai was built did not exist at the beginning of the 1900s, while the adjacent Ping Shan was by the sea. The water north of Ping Shan gradually turned to marshes and villagers converted it into pools and rice paddies. The pools became ''gei wai'' fish ponds where most of the residents were fishermen before the new town was developed. With the decline in aquaculture, most of the fish ponds were abandoned. The Hong Kong Government developed the area into a new town through land reclamation. The new town, conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people, was constructed on 2.4 square kilometres of reclaimed fishponds and wetland representing one quarter of the flat land in the New Territories.〔Ng Kang-ching, ("Developers sue over delay ), ''The Standard'', May 22, 1990〕 The process of land reclamation for the new town was completed in 1990. Formation of the 2.4 km2 was estimated to cost HK$820 million in a contract signed with a Chinese joint-venture company. 20 million cubic metres of material would be required for the landfill. Maximum possible land formation was 4.88 km2.〔($820m new town deal will give homes to 140,000 ), Maureen Fan, South China Morning Post, October 27, 1987〕 A new modular style of construction for the public housing estates allowed rapid development and, in a first for a new town, on 26 March 1993 Tin Shui Wai was officially opened by Governor Chris Patten. By that time, some 30,000 people were already living there.〔 The Government was accused by the developers of stalling the release of land for political reasons. Tin Shui Wai Development, a company 51% owned by China Resources and 49% by Cheung Kong Holdings, sued the Government for damages caused by delays in handing over 388,000 m² of land for development originally promised for 1985. The land was eventually handed over in May 1989.〔 The first occupants moved into the new town in 1991.〔 The Housing Authority launched 6,459 Home Ownership Scheme flats in the area at steep discounts to an adjacent private estate, and attracted some 90,000 applications.〔Ng Kang-ching, (Big rush for new release of HOS flats ), South China Morning Post, December 18, 1991〕 The Development Zone of 220 hectares, located in the southern part of the new town, has been developed to house about 200,000 people. An LRT line and new roads linking the new town to the trunk road network provide good connections to the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts and to the urban areas beyond. Further expansion of the new town into the remaining areas to the north, known as the Reserve Zone, with an area of 210 hectares, commenced in July 1998. The infrastructure was completed in stages from 2000 to 2004 to cope with population intake of the housing developments. West Rail and the extension of the LRT service to the Reserve Zone were also commissioned in late 2003. To the northeastern portion of the new town, a constructed wetland has been completed which serves as a buffer between the developments in the Reserve Zone and the Mai Po Nature Reserve. The constructed wetland has been further developed into the Hong Kong Wetland Park, opening to public in May 2006. The total planned population of Tin Shui Wai new town is about 306,000 while the current population is about 292,000.〔(CEDD - About Us )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tin Shui Wai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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