Chapter III  

Accelerate the Development of the Northern Metropolis

43. The Northern Metropolis, our city's strategic development area bordering Shenzhen, covers a land area and planned population intake accounting for about one-third of Hong Kong's total. It therefore represents a substantial source of economic value and development potential, creating many jobs and boosting productivity. While the Government has been accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis for the past three years, I remain deeply concerned about its progress, given the sheer size of the area and the magnitude of the investment required.

44. To further develop our economy and improve people's livelihood, we must speed up the Northern Metropolis development. Accordingly, I have decided to raise the level of decision-making by establishing the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis under my leadership³. The committee will be tasked with streamlining administrative workflows and removing unnecessary barriers and restrictions. Embracing a new mind-set, we will adopt safe, cost-efficient, and time-saving construction methods, materials, and equipment from different jurisdictions. We will also introduce dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis.

(A) Establish the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis

45. 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:

(i) 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 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 policy study to set up an industry park company for about 23 hectares of industry land at Hung Shui Kiu. The recommendations will be announced this year after reporting to the working group.

(ii) 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 to be used for joint development with the third medical school and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.

(iii) 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, co-ordinating 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 co-ordination and supervision of the approval process, imposing time limits and phased reporting, to accelerate progress.

(B) Remove Barriers and Ease Restrictions to Streamline Administrative Procedures

46. The Government will streamline administrative procedures, removing barriers and restrictions. Relevant measures include:

(i) 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.

(ii) 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 approach of phased development for the commercial sites in Hung Shui Kiu.

(iii) Adopt diverse models such as in-situ land exchange and large-scale land disposal to promote market participation and expedite development.

(iv) 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.

(v) Allow land owners in the Northern Metropolis to voluntarily surrender land planned to be resumed by the Government to offset the amount payable for in-situ land exchange or large-scale land disposal in NDAs. This will promote market participation in the development.

(vi) Adopt a "pay for what you build" approach to reduce the cost of land premiums in the Northern Metropolis. In lease modifications, subject to the condition of the land parcels involved, owners will be allowed to pay the required premium according to the actual built floor area and use, rather than the maximum floor area based on the maximum plot ratio under the current planning regime. We will also consider allowing developers to pay land premiums in phases, according to the development scale.

(vii) Commence a land use review for Au Tau, to capitalise on the development potential brought by the Northern Link. We will consider a larger proportion of private housing in the area around Sha Po at Au Tau Station for development into an NDA. We will engage the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (MTRCL) to conduct the review, announcing its results next year.

47. Where appropriate, we may also apply the above administrative measures to areas outside the Northern Metropolis.

(C) Dedicated Legislation to Accelerate the Development of Northern Metropolis

48. I 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.

(D) Expedite the Development of the Loop

49. The Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (the Co-operation Zone) is located on both sides of the Shenzhen River, comprising Shenzhen Park and Hong Kong Park. Leveraging the advantages of "one zone, two parks", the Co-operation Zone will promote collaboration between the two parks in the development of I&T.

50. The construction of the first three buildings in Phase 1 of the Hong Kong Park of the Co-operation Zone (Hong Kong Park) has been completed. Tenants from life and health technology, microelectronics, new energy, AI and other pillar industries are gradually moving in. The construction of the other five buildings will be completed progressively from 2027.

51. The Government will roll out parcels of the remaining land in Phase 1 this year. We will complete Phase 2 planning for the development scale and distribution of industries to finalise Hong Kong Park's overall layout and consider offering work spaces flexibly to companies under the "moving in while construction is underway" approach. That will enable them to move in earlier without having to wait for the completion of the entire park's construction.

(E) Development Outline for the San Tin Technopole

52. The San Tin Technopole, spanning some 210 hectares⁴ of land for I&T, will serve as a strategic base for the I&T industry. The Government will publish the Conceptual Outline of the Development Plan for the Innovation and Technology Industry in the San Tin Technopole this year. It will cover top-level planning, industry positioning and layout, the co-ordinated development of land parcels, and the strategies for channelling market resources to invest in the development.

(F) Expedite Transport Infrastructural Development

53. To dovetail with the development of the Northern Metropolis, construction works of Kwu Tung Station and Hung Shui Kiu Station are proceeding in full swing for completion in 2027 and 2030 respectively. Adopting an innovative mind-set, the Government has signed the Part 1 Project Agreement with the MTRCL. It will concurrently develop the Northern Link Spur Line in combination with the Main Line, achieving simultaneous commissioning by 2034 or earlier.

54. Cross-boundary railway projects will lead to the comprehensive integration of metro networks in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, significantly enhancing the GBA's infrastructure connectivity and boosting industry's confidence in setting up operations. We are pressing ahead with the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project and have invited expressions of interest from contractors and operators on the Hong Kong section of the project.

³ The existing Steering Committee on the Northern Metropolis will be discontinued.
⁴ Not including the 87-hectare Hong Kong Park.

(To be continued.)

Ends/Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:37

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