The Northern Metropolis will serve as the new engine for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s economic development, powered by high-quality education that integrates enterprise, talent and industry, the city’s financial chief said on Sunday.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently held several consultation sessions regarding Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and 2026 Policy Address. The Northern Metropolis development was the focus of the latest session, themed “Livable City”, which drew more than 80 representatives of various organizations.
With more than 90 innovation and technology companies having moved into the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, the Northern Metropolis will create over 500,000 jobs to drive innovation, technology, and diversified industrial development, Chan said.
ALSO READ: Long-term strategy helps position Hong Kong as a major future city
“The San Tin Technopole and Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park, together with the broad-scale Northern Metropolis University Town, will achieve the integrated development of ‘government, industry, academia, research and investment’,” Chan wrote in his weekly blog.
He noted that the infrastructure will be the backbone of the Northern Metropolis. A case in point is the Mass Transit Railway’s proposed Kwu Tung Station -- located between Sheung Shui and Lok Ma Chau stations – that’s expected to open next year. It will become the 100th heavy rail station, connecting the East Rail Line and the Northern Link.
Together with Hung Shui Kiu Station, which is scheduled to commence service in 2030, a trip from Hung Shui Kiu to Qianhai in Shenzhen will take just 15 minutes via the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link, connecting transportation networks across the western regions of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
READ MORE: Northern Metropolis Development Bill sent to HK LegCo for debate
Currently, construction has commenced on four new development zones within the Northern Metropolis, with over 520 hectares of land reclaimed and about 120 hectares leveled.
“Infrastructure and industrial development will provide residents in the area with more convenient transportation and more job opportunities in the future,” Chan said. “We believe the development of the Northern Metropolis can also create more favorable conditions for the renewal of old districts.”
Over the next five years, the Northern Metropolis will provide more than 70,000 housing units and one million square meters of commercial floor space. In a decade, about 240,000 housing units and over 10 million sqm of commercial floor space will be completed in the Northern Metropolis, according to Chan.
Contact the writer at: rayjia@chinadailyhk.com
