The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s recently announced Transport Strategy Blueprint outlines a vision for the future development of Hong Kong’s transport infrastructure, focusing on three main themes, six key strategies, and 25 recommendations. It emphasizes the need for a “dual-innovation mindset” to optimize the infrastructure layout and enhance the overall quality of transport services, which is indeed promising. However, I believe that execution is of paramount importance after planning. To successfully turn the blueprint into reality, three priority actions must be taken in advance.
First, a shared data platform must be set up to break down data silos. The blueprint proposes the construction of a citywide “five vertical and five horizontal corridors” railway network and “three vertical and three horizontal corridors” major road network to significantly enhance connectivity between Hong Kong and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. While the objectives are clear, orderly advancement of the proposed transport infrastructure is imperative, especially regarding the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link connecting to the national high speed rail network, the future central rail link, and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) and its future southern extension. These projects are crucial for connecting the subway networks of the two cities and involve extensive land planning across both cities. The entire lifecycle of these transport projects can span decades to over a century. Therefore, prior to initiating project planning, establishing a comprehensive shared data platform with a “single source of truth” functionality is key to success.
Large transport infrastructure projects involve numerous personnel, organizations, and materials, with long construction periods generating massive amounts of data, particularly images, photographs, and videos. The effectiveness of coordination, review, and communications significantly impacts construction efficiency. Establishing a shared data platform centered on geospatial data, which aggregates and integrates all project-related information, can break down data silos. This prevents stakeholders from having to search for information across multiple systems, mitigating misunderstandings caused by the discrepancies and asynchrony of data.
In fact, the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, released by the central government in 2019, highlights the need to enhance infrastructure for fostering cooperation, which includes developing “interconnected public application platforms”, “a smart city spatiotemporal cloud platform and a spatial information service platform”. A common aspect of these information infrastructures is their reliance on geospatial data, since data formats and content from different sources can vary widely. Geographical location thus serves as the universal key that links various data types, allowing a comprehensive picture to be pieced together for better, quicker decision-making and enhanced overall execution efficiency.
Second, interdepartmental collaboration and data governance must be strengthened. Recommendation 13 in the blueprint advocates for the development of a “traffic management platform” to optimize the digital management of traffic. It will collect and integrate various types of traffic data, utilizing big-data analytics and artificial-intelligence technologies to predict changes in traffic conditions, identify bottlenecks, and develop emergency response plans. It will assist traffic management and transport planning, with applications covering major events, adverse weather, and unexpected incidents. The platform will provide real-time traffic information and share it with relevant government departments, enabling, for example, the Hong Kong Police Force to carry out corresponding enforcement action based on real-time data, and the Highways Department to swiftly clear blocked roads during extreme weather to maintain smooth traffic flow.
The Transport Strategy Blueprint is pivotal to the future well-being of over 100 million residents in the Greater Bay Area. It serves as a comprehensive strategy to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness, while marking a significant milestone in consolidating its position as a network hub both within the Greater Bay Area and globally
The Civil Engineering and Development Department has developed and operated the Common Operation Picture (COP) for eight years. This digital platform, which centers around electronic mapping, enables real-time sharing of relevant accident information across different departments, with over 20 government departments currently participating. Unfortunately, the COP is activated only when dealing with natural disasters such as flooding, landslides, structural incidents, and major road blockages. I believe that upgrading this platform, for example by incorporating geospatial artificial intelligence along with satellites, drones, and sensors to gather vast amounts of data, and expanding its application scenarios to benefit all government agencies, would dismantle data and administrative barriers. A single platform could enhance interdepartmental collaboration and facilitate data exchange, significantly boosting government efficiency and achieving effective governance, thus negating the need to create additional platforms and save budget.
Third, the low-altitude economy (LAE) should be promoted with a “one blueprint, multiple regions soaring” objective. The blueprint’s Recommendation 15 aims to actively promote the LAE, positioning Hong Kong as an Asia-Pacific innovation hub for it, ensuring that the LAE deeply integrates with the national strategy of promoting new quality productive forces. To further expand the application scenarios of the LAE, the government will progressively launch advanced “Regulatory Sandbox X” projects starting this year, covering more technologically complex low-altitude flight scenarios such as cross-boundary routes and low-altitude aircraft designed for carrying passengers. Additionally, it aims to refine civil aviation legislation and the regulatory framework to lay the foundation for the standardized development of the LAE. It will also initiate a technical study on low altitude infrastructure facilities, planning and deploying in advance takeoff and landing points, air route networks, satellite positioning, three-dimensional spatial data systems, and a Smart Low-altitude Traffic Management System. The government will also formulate an action plan to actively align LAE development with other Greater Bay Area cities, positioning Hong Kong as an effective platform for Chinese mainland LAE enterprises to go global.
Nevertheless, Hong Kong is still in the infant stages of LAE development vis-a-vis the mainland’s rapid progress. To synchronously develop with other Greater Bay Area cities, the Working Group on Developing Low-altitude Economy must maintain close ties with industry players and understand their needs. Currently, more than 20 relatively mature and lower-risk projects such as infrastructure inspections and logistics delivery from the Regulatory Sandbox are already in practical operation, yet there is still no collaborative low-altitude transport linkage with the governments of other Greater Bay Area cities. It is essential for Hong Kong to take proactive measures, engaging with relevant municipal governments and operational units to explore application scenarios, business models, airspace management, legal frameworks, and cross-border integration, particularly for logistics, emergency response, and tourism scenarios. This will create scale effects and help realize the vision of “one blueprint, multiple regions soaring”, ultimately fostering Hong Kong’s economic growth.
The Transport Strategy Blueprint is pivotal to the future well-being of over 100 million residents in the Greater Bay Area. It serves as a comprehensive strategy to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness, while marking a significant milestone in consolidating its position as a network hub both within the Greater Bay Area and globally. It’s hoped that the various strategies and recommendations in the blueprint will be implemented swiftly, aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) while providing more efficient and diverse transport services for residents and visitors alike, thereby maintaining Hong Kong’s standing as a world-class transport and logistics hub.
The author is an adjunct professor in the School of Computing and Data Science and the Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, at the University of Hong Kong; and founding vice-president of the Greater Bay Area Low-Altitude Economy Alliance.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
