Following is a question by the Hon Maggie Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (October 15):

Question:

     The Government has indicated in the 2025 Policy Address that the Northern Metropolis (NM), which covers a land area and planned population intake accounting for about one-third of Hong Kong's total, is our city's strategic development area. There are views that the development of the NM provides opportunities for young people in Hong Kong to achieve upward mobility and build a happy life. Regarding measures in the NM to support upward mobility for young people, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the Government has planned an upward mobility ecological chain for young people, covering such areas as education, employment, home ownership and entrepreneurship, in relation to the future development of the NM; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) given the projection in the 2025 Policy Address that the NM will create about half a million new job opportunities, of the distribution and proportions of such jobs by type; whether it has formulated training programmes and strategies for nurturing local talent in close alignment with such new jobs to assist young people in seizing the relevant opportunities;

(3) in light of the population influx into the NM brought by the aforementioned half a million new job opportunities, whether it has assessed the sufficiency of residential units in the NM to meet the demand of young families; if so, of the housing plan formulated based on the assessment results, as well as the respective numerical proportions of public housing units, Home Ownership Scheme units and private residential units therein; and

(4) whether it has planned to build facilities (including youth hostels, Youth Post hostels, childcare service centres, kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools) in the NM to support the working youth and their families; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Northern Metropolis (NM), a strategic development area in Hong Kong, is a major investment and construction we have made for the future, including the next generation. With an area and planned population accounting for around one-third of Hong Kong's totals, the NM will provide more than 3 000 hectares of new development land. The land for different industries in the NM would drive the development of innovation and technology (I&T) and other industries, and create more than 500 000 quality and diversified job opportunities. The NM is also a key source of public and private housing supply in the future, which will provide approximately 500 000 new residential units. The planning of the NM will also promote better home-job balance, bringing jobs closer to homes, as well as providing supporting facilities for residents and workers which improve the quality of life.

     In response to the question raised by the Hon Maggie Chan, after consulting the relevant bureaux, the reply is as follows (as Parts 1 to 3 are related, we prepared a consolidated reply for these parts):

(1) to (3) In planning the land use in new development areas (NDAs) in the NM, the Development Bureau, in collaboration with relevant departments, has been adopting a diversified development approach in order to accommodate the needs of young people at different stages of life (such as education, employment and housing).

     On education, during the planning of the NDAs within the NM, we have reserved sufficient land for the development of primary and secondary schools in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines and relevant government departments, as well as land or floor space for kindergartens and other government, institution and community facilities to meet the demands assessed by the relevant departments. To support Hong Kong's development into an international hub for post-secondary education, the Government has reserved land for the development of the Northern Metropolis University Town. This initiative will not only meet the demand of young people for post-secondary education, but also support Hong Kong to build the "Study in Hong Kong" brand. Furthermore, a considerable amount of land has been reserved in the NM for cultural and sports development, providing ample space for young people with diverse interests to unleash their full potentials.

     On employment and entrepreneurship, the NM adopts an "industry-driven" development mode, offering vast development space for various industries and creating a huge number of quality and diverse jobs, thereby meeting the employment needs of young people while fostering a favourable environment for entrepreneurship. To take the I&T industry as an example, the San Tin Technopole in the NM, including the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Hetao Hong Kong Park), will provide 300 hectares of land for I&T, capable of offering a gross floor area of about 7 million square metres, equivalent to 17 Hong Kong Science Park, and significantly enhancing space for the development of the local I&T industry and start-ups. In addition, Lau Fau Shan will be positioned as a digital technology hub to capitalise on advanced technologies and promote integration of new and traditional economies, as well as to serve as an incubation base for young talent and start-ups. The NDAs within the NM are currently at various planning and construction stages. Based on the assumptions adopted at the planning stages, more than 500 000 new jobs are expected to be created with the estimations of distribution by industry set out in the Annex. Regarding these new jobs, relevant bureaux and departments will provide corresponding local talent training programmes in response to the latest development and manpower requirements across various industries.

     On housing, the NM will be the major source of future housing supply in Hong Kong, which is estimated to provide approximately 500 000 new residential units to meet the demand for housing of families of different strata (including young families). The NDAs would also provide opportunities to respond to the public aspiration for larger home space. In line with the recommendations in the Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030 (Hong Kong 2030+), an enhanced home space by 10 to 20 per cent on average is assumed for the residential sites in the NDAs within the NM under more recent planning (including San Tin Technopole, Ngau Tam Mei, the Lau Fau Shan area, New Territories North New Town and Ma Tso Lung), offering flexibility for creating more quality living space in the future. In addition, we have allowed flexibility in adjusting the public/private split of housing supply in individual NDAs, taking into consideration the industry positioning of these NDAs and the needs of people from different strata. The respective public/private splits of housing supply in Kwu Tung North/Fanling North and Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDAs are approximately 70:30 and 60:40, with both public rental housing and subsidised sale flats in the public housing development. The public/private splits of housing supply in other NDAs will be flexibly determined at the later implementation stage, taking into account the positioning of respective NDAs and the overall supply and demand for public and private housing.

(4) On the childminding service, there will be 100 aided child care centre service places per 25 000 general population in accordance with the planning ratio on a population basis, so as to cater for the service demand brought about by the population inflow in the NDAs within the NM. On youth support, one integrated children and youth services centre will be planned for every 12 000 children/young persons in the 6-24 age group. The NM could also provide suitable sites for relevant facilities such as Youth Post hostels and youth hostels, subject to policy support. In line with the policy objectives of the Youth Development Blueprint, the Government plans to build youth facility buildings and relevant facilities in the NM (for example, in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA) to support youth development. The facilities will include venues for exchange, interaction and collaboration between young people from the Mainland and Hong Kong, spaces for youth interactions and activities, innovation and entrepreneurial bases for young people, and base facilities for youth uniformed groups. As for the planning of kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools, please refer to the reply above.

Ends/Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Issued at HKT 15:45

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