HONG KONG -- John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), convened the first working meeting of the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis on Monday, focusing on discussing and guiding the future directions and strategies of the three working groups to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis.

The three working groups will commence work as soon as possible and fully advance the accelerated development of Northern Metropolis according to the instructions given.

Lee stated at the meeting that the Northern Metropolis possesses unique geographical advantages, with its land area and planned population intake accounting for about one-third of Hong Kong's total. It serves as a new engine for Hong Kong's economic development, possessing enormous development potential and economic value. It will create many jobs, increase income and enhance Hong Kong's overall competitiveness, Lee said.

He emphasized that expediting high-efficiency development of the Northern Metropolis is an urgent and strategic priority for Hong Kong's future development, adding that the HKSAR government must spare no effort to seize development opportunities and advance Hong Kong's economy towards a new phase of high-value-added growth and strong competitiveness.

Lee pointed out that over the past three years, the HKSAR government has formulated development plans as well as accelerated construction for the Northern Metropolis.

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The main purpose of establishing the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis, personally led by him, is to elevate the decision-making level of Northern Metropolis development, streamline administrative procedures, remove barriers, break through bottlenecks, and adopt new thinking to achieve construction goals that are safe, cost-effective, and time-saving, Lee noted.

The Committee also aims to enact dedicated legislation to accelerate development of the Northern Metropolis, he added.

The 2025 Policy Address announced the establishment of the committee, under which three working groups would be set up.

The committee seeks to strengthen supervision and promote the development of the Northern Metropolis at full steam, focusing on advancing dedicated legislation, facilitating industry and enterprise establishment, finalizing development strategies for the Northern Metropolis University Town, and expediting the approval and implementation of land and construction projects.

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The committee is chaired by the chief executive. The three working groups are the Working Group on Devising Development and Operation Models, led by the financial secretary, responsible for designing development and operation models tailored to the nature and scale of each designated development area in the Northern Metropolis; the Working Group on Planning and Construction of the University Town, led by the chief secretary for administration, which specializes in researching the development model for the Northern Metropolis University Town; and the Working Group on Planning and Development, led by the deputy financial secretary, which is tasked with managing the whole process from planning to execution.