Hong Kong's Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau yesterday (Nov. 20) announced the Conceptual Outline of Development Plan for Innovation and Technology Industry in San Tin Technopole, establishing a clear development strategy for this approximately 210-hectare site designated for innovation and technology use.
The project will be divided into three development hubs, from north to south: the Hetao Hub, Chau Tau Hub, and Ki Lun Hub. It will be developed in five phases, with land in the southern part reserved as a strategic reserve zone to support emerging technology industries. Given the substantial financial investment required, the government plans to establish a dedicated company to participate in the development jointly with the market, optimizing development costs.
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong expressed the hope that the general layout for the technopole's industrial development can be initially completed within the next 10 years. Upon reaching full operation, it is projected to contribute HK$250 billion or more annually to the local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide over 300,000 jobs.
Targeting general layout completion in the next 10 years
The entire San Tin Technopole covers a total development area of over 600 hectares, nearly half of which is designated for I&T use. The development outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Co-operation Zone was released last year. Yesterday's Outline establishes three primary development positioning for the remaining I&T land use within the San Tin Technopole: (1) providing space for prototyping, pilot production, and small-scale manufacturing, (2) developing high-quality local I&T industries, and (3) pooling global I&T resources and talent.
Sun highlighted three advantages: It is adjacent to the Hong Kong Park in the Loop and closely connected to the I&T ecosystems of Futian and Huanggang, giving it a locational advantage. Its provision of 210 hectares of new I&T land can meet the spatial needs of different segments of the industry chain, enterprises of varying scales and different technology fields, giving it a scale advantage. It also enjoys an excellent transportation network, and is close to Shenzhen and the Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park, providing a favourable ecological environment and strengths as a liveable place.
The land use layout includes "the three hubs and three corridors": namely, the Hetao Hub, Chau Tau Hub, and Ki Lun Hub from north to south, along with the life and health technology corridor, AI and robotics corridor, and microelectronics and advanced industry corridor. Key planning aspects include an industrial ecology design integrating R&D and pilot production, creating a virtuous cycle of "enhancing the city's quality with industries, attracting talent with the city, and developing industries with talent"; using "industrial catalysts" to drive the development of I&T industry cluster ecosystems; providing "industry-oriented" spatial forms based on the differing spatial needs of various I&T industries; and providing supporting facilities for I&T industry development. The five development phases proposed in the Outline include introduction, industry ecosystem expansion, city-industry hub and consolidation.
Sun explained at yesterday's press conference that each phase will be guided and coordinated around developing the respective hubs, focusing on their primary advanced industries, while emphasizing industry-city integration. Besides attracting enterprises to establish headquarters and creating commercial complexes, the plan also includes spaces for talent apartments, providing various urban amenities for I&T talent. The industrial distribution will focus on building a Hong Kong I&T industrial system centered on advanced manufacturing, covering six major fields: Life and Health Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Microelectronics and Intelligent Devices, New Materials, New Energy, and Green Technologies.
The phasing strategy will fully consider factors such as the sequence of introducing industries and their upstream/downstream segments, incremental property value, and the timing of capital investment. The government's land resumption and site formation engineering schedule will also align with this strategy.
Synergistic development with Hong Kong Park
Sun predicted that the new I&T land use in the San Tin area and the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Co-operation Zone will form a crucial link for synergistic upstream, midstream, and downstream development, providing comprehensive space and full-chain support for the I&T industry, ranging from offices, prototype development, small-scale testing, pilot production to manufacturing.
Under Hong Kong's future new industrial layout of "Finance in the South, I&T in the North," it will become a hub for Hong Kong's emerging technology industries and an important base for developing new quality productive forces. Under the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong as an international I&T centre and Hong Kong's new industrial layout of a South-North dual engine (finance-I&T) in the future, the San Tin Technopole, as an indispensable key part of Hong Kong's I&T development, will become a stronghold for the future development of emerging technology industries in Hong Kong and an important base for developing new quality productive forces.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Luk Nga-nan; English Editor: Darius)
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