Chief Executive John Lee today (Sept. 17) delivered the new Policy Address, themed "Deepen Reforms and Committed to People's Livelihood; Capitalise on Our Advantages and Create Stronger Synergy Together".
Lee stated, the Northern Metropolis, a crucial strategic development area next to Shenzhen, covers a land area and planned population that accounts for about one-third of Hong Kong's total. This region offers significant economic value and development potential, creating many jobs and increasing productivity. Despite the Government's efforts to accelerate its development over the past three years, I remain concerned about progress given the area's size and the investment required.
Lee pointed out, to enhance the Hong Kong economy and improve residents' livelihoods, we must expedite the Northern Metropolis development. Thus, I will establish the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis under my leadership. This committee will streamline administrative processes and eliminate unnecessary barriers. We will adopt innovative, cost-effective construction methods and introduce dedicated legislation to speed up development.
Lee said, with the overall planning of the Northern Metropolis, it is now the optimal juncture to expedite the development of the area, bringing in industries and major projects. I will establish and chair the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis, under which the following three working groups will be set up:
Working Group on Devising Development and Operation Models: led by the Financial Secretary, the working group will formulate development and operation models for industry parks in the Northern Metropolis, taking into account their nature and scale. This will include setting up one or more dedicated companies, or statutory or non-statutory bodies, for various industrial parks, devising public-private partnership approaches such as the Build-Operate-Transfer model. It will also explore shifting from "highest bidder wins" to an industry-linked "two-envelope approach" for tendering. We will devise a range of financing schemes, including equity, bonds, government injections, and "provision of land as a form of capital participation". The Development Bureau (DEVB) is conducting a policy study to set up an industry park company for about 23 hectares of industrial land at Hung Shui Kiu. The recommendations will be announced this year after reporting to the working group.
Working Group on Planning and Construction of the University Town: led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the working group will study the development mode for the Northern Metropolis University Town. It will set up a research task force to conduct field trips on the successful models of university towns elsewhere, seeking views from presidents and representatives of local, Mainland, and other internationally renowned universities. It will also explore the possible way forward to deeply integrate industry development with the academic sectors where Hong Kong has an edge, alongside the strategies for attracting leading universities and research institutes in the Mainland and overseas to establish a base in Hong Kong. Three batches of sites for the Northern Metropolis University Town will be available for use in 2026 (Hung Shui Kiu), 2028 (Ngau Tam Mei), and 2030 (New Territories North New Town), respectively, at the earliest. The working group will make recommendations on the positioning and vision regarding the development of these sites to devise a clear, industry-led approach. The land in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (NDA), for example, will integrate with nearby, high-end professional services as well as vocational and professional education and training facilities for joint development. The land in Ngau Tam Mei can dovetail with the overall innovation and technology (I&T) development of the San Tin Technopole and the Loop, among others, life and health technology industries, and be used for joint development with the third medical school and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.
Working Group on Planning and Development: led by the Deputy Financial Secretary, the working group will be responsible for managing the end-to-end process from planning to implementation, coordinating and consolidating such aspects as planning, engineering, land, transportation, and environmental protection, to promote industry anchoring, create job opportunities, and enhance productivity. A dedicated project supervision office will be established under the working group to strengthen the coordination and supervision of the approval process, imposing time limits and phased reporting, to accelerate progress.
The Government will streamline administrative procedures, removing barriers and restrictions. Relevant measures include:
- Introduce the Fast Track Processing System, adopting superior construction methods from different places, and integrate successful construction technologies, materials, and equipment from the Mainland and overseas, in a bid to reduce construction costs and time.
- Implement a "phased development" approach on a trial basis with reference to the Mainland's "1.5-level development" concept. Specifically, pilot low-density facilities, such as retail, entertainment, and convention and exhibition facilities, will be developed initially to attract businesses, bringing income and footfall to the area to create momentum before long-term development is rolled out. We will invite market feedback on such an approach of phased development for the commercial sites in Hung Shui Kiu.
- Adopt diverse models, such as in-situ land exchange and large-scale land disposal, to promote market participation and expedite development.
- Employ flexible land-grant arrangements, encouraging enterprises to set up businesses and invest in the area. Sites granted as tenancy instead of land lease may have a term exceeding seven years to provide greater flexibility. Depending on industry policies, open tendering, restricted tendering, or direct land grants may be adopted.
Lee added that he will introduce dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of Northern Metropolis, empowering the Government to devise simplified statutory procedures for issues including setting up statutory industry park companies and providing them with dedicated channels for funding; managing the cross-boundary flow of people, goods, capital, data and biological samples in designated areas, to attract research institutes and high-end manufacturers to establish a presence in Hong Kong; speeding up the approval of building plans; relaxing permitted uses in outline zoning plans (OZPs) and fine-tuning development parameters; and expediting compensation payment for land resumption.
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