SIGHTSEEING project Tour Shenzhen is raising public concerns over possibly posing harm to the Shenzhen Bay marine habitat in Nanshan District and intercepting migratory bird routes.

In response, the Shenzhen Municipal Transport Bureau said in a statement Wednesday that the public can give feedback by calling 0755-82962935 or emailing szghhy@jtys.sz.gov.cn until April 2 so that the bureau can conduct further research on the project.

In an environmental impact report released on its official website last week, the bureau said a navigation way that is about 120 meters wide and 3.1 meters deep will be dredged up for tourism vessels entering the Shenzhen Bay area, which is separated from the rest of the sea by the Shenzhen Bay Bridge.

According to the report, the 17-km navigation route will start from Shekou Cruise Homeport in Nanshan and end at the mouth of the Shenzhen River in Luohu. Vessels have to pass under the Shenzhen Bay Bridge to enter the Shenzhen Bay sea area.

The first phase will be 9.2 kilometers and end at the Shenzhen Talent Park, where a ferry port will be built. According to a report in November last year, the ferry port, able to accommodate 2,000-ton vessels, will be put into use in August this year when the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone marks its 40th anniversary.

The present navigation route can only accommodate vessels of 300 tons, too small to accommodate the 2,000-ton vessels that can carry up to 350 passengers. The dredging project will cover about 48 hectares of sea area. The bureau explained that the project isn’t within the Guangdong ecological control line, and the sightseeing project won’t pose threat to the ecological environment.

Shenzhen Bay is the most important wetland area in Shenzhen where around 100,000 migratory birds nest each year. The bay area is surrounded by ecological parks in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Since 2014, fishing has been banned in the area to protect the habitat.

Li Shen, deputy secretary general with the Shenzhen Mangrove Conservation Foundation, says that digging a navigation way will have a direct impact on the coast ecology of Shenzhen Bay Park and disrupt the routes of migratory birds, according to Southcn.com.

While praising the sightseeing project as a good idea, Ma Haipeng, secretary general with the Shenzhen Blue Ocean Conservation Association, thinks developing a tourism sea route inside the Bay area is not appropriate.

“Shenzhen Bay is a precious natural fortune for a city that has witnessed fast growth in the past 40 years. The dredging and future tourism route will affect the habitats of birds. We are concerned about the impact of the project on habitats when the route is extended to Mangrove Ecology Park,” said Li.

On a WeChat account by a netizen identified as Bai Xiaoci, said the digging as well as the future operating tourism route will disrupt the habitat of birds, which are sensitive to the presence of human beings.

Tour Shenzhen was put into operation in September 2017. The tour involves an 18-km round trip from the Shekou homeport to the Shenzhen Bay Bridge. The vessel has a capacity of 60 passengers.

The bureau wants to extend the trip into the Shenzhen Bay sea area because, according to the report, the talent park, mangrove ecology park and landmark buildings in the Houhai area and Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters could better manifest the city’s coastal image.  (Han Ximin)