HONG KONG - Chief Executive Carrie Lam's plan for massive land reclamation is necessary for Hong Kong's future growth as it will provide relief to the city's land shortage crisis and help it stay competitive in the region, say observers, as criticisms mount over the project off Lautau island.

Nomura analyst Joyce Kwock described the plan as "a longer-term powerful tool to relieve the land shortage pressure", despite its limited short-term impact on the listed Hong Kong developers or the residential housing market.