Chapter V  Expedite the Development of the Northern Metropolis

183. The land area and projected population of the NM account for about one-third of Hong Kong's total. No longer merely a blueprint, it has begun to deliver tangible results and will gradually enter its maturity phase.

184. The NM will rise as an important strategic vehicle for advancing high-quality post-secondary education, integrating I&T and industry, and pooling international high-calibre talent. It will become a major platform for Hong Kong's deepening engagement with the GBA and integration into and serving the overall national development. It also serves as a new engine to develop new quality productive forces.

185. To foster the integrated development of education, technology and talent, the NM will take the university town as the main focus of its development, converging the five elements of education, technology, industry, talent and a suitable living environment. We will drive the NM's high-quality development, while facilitating the infrastructure links between the NM and the Harbour Metropolis to improve Hong Kong's spatial planning.

(A) Northern Metropolis University Town

Drive the Northern Metropolis Development with University Towns and Leading Industry Development through Technology

186. We will develop three university towns, which are the San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu and Ta Kwu Ling university towns in the NM, based on the concept of town area comprising campus area, technology area, industry area and living community area, and planned around "One Town, Five Elements" (education, technology, industry, talent and urban development), to drive the overall development of the Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT). "Education–industry–urban development" will power the synergistic development of "technology–industry", establishing a talent hub for the GBA and the world. We will build high-quality university towns that are suitable for education, research, innovation and living. Adopting the strategic positioning that integrates the four pillars of "talent cultivation, scientific research, transformation of outcomes, industry development", we will drive the synergistic development among the Government, industries, academia, research and investment sectors, in a bid to achieve the integrated development of education, technology and talent.

187. The campus areas of the three university towns in San Tin²¹, Hung Shui Kiu²² and Ta Kwu Ling²³ amount to about 300 hectares. Together with the surrounding technology areas, industry areas and living community areas, the overall planned areas of the three university towns will exceed 1 000 hectares.

188. The San Tin University Town will focus on the development of medicine, life and health technology, AI, robotics, microelectronics and emerging industries, with its campus area covering the land near the future Northern Link's San Tin Station and Ngau Tam Mei Station. Its technology area and industry area will cover the Loop Hong Kong Park and San Tin Technopole. The Loop Hong Kong Park, which opened in 2025, is home to the established GBAICTI, which has been in operation. The GBAICTI is wholly owned by the Government, with the University of Hong Kong as the operator. The GBAICTI works in collaboration with the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trials Center, located in the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, to promote medical innovation and clinical trial development. It also houses a biobank, jointly managed by the HA and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Building 1 of the Loop Hong Kong Park, scheduled for completion by the end of the year, will be positioned as the flagship project for launching of the NMUT, bringing together the frontier research capabilities of leading local and non-local universities and institutions, including InnoHK and other new initiatives. It will promote interaction and connection between universities, R&D and industries. In line with its strategic positioning, the building will be named "Loop Academy One", which reflects the tripartite mission anchored by academia, with R&D a core part, and underpinned by technology. In addition, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust will allocate $3 billion to support the construction of another integrated teaching and scientific research building. It will focus on educational and scientific exchange, as well as the cultivation of scientific research talent, and will make available its facilities for other institutions to use. The two buildings will complement one another, marking the start of a new chapter in the development of the NMUT.

189. The Government will invite the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park Limited and the San Tin Technopole Company Limited to join the development of university towns and participate in related construction works, so as to accelerate such projects.

190. The campus area of the Hung Shui Kiu University Town and its adjoining technology and industry areas (including Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park, the Lau Fau Shan Digital Technology Hub, Yuen Long InnoPark and the MRDI) will be developed as a "Centre for Applied Post-secondary Education in Smart Manufacturing and Global Talent Cultivation". This year, the Government will invite applications from post-secondary institutions for the construction of campuses to kick-start Hung Shui Kiu University Town campus development.

191. The Ta Kwu Ling University Town will integrate arts and "blue-green" development elements. It will support comprehensively the development of emerging and traditional industries, as well as new industries. Strategic space will also be reserved for future development needs, establishing a university town with a unique style that integrates the "One Town, Five Elements", along with an arts and leisure ecosystem.

Innovation-driven Industry-academia-research Collaboration across Institutions

192. The Working Group on Planning and Construction of the University Town, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, will be upgraded to become the Committee on Construction and Development of the University Town, and include non-official expert members. The Committee will provide high-level steer with respect to the long term strategic development of the NMUT, while promoting inter-departmental collaboration, and facilitating the development of an internationally competitive university town.

193. The Committee will explore measures to facilitate and incentivise NMUT institutions to pursue the transformation of research outcomes. They include providing funding for technology transfer, introducing accelerators and incubators, and channelling capital input to promote the institutions' commercialisation and marketisation of research outcomes.

194. To dovetail with the development of the NMUT, and raise Hong Kong's scientific research capabilities, the Government will support the capacity expansion and enhancement of post-secondary education:

(i) Gradually increase the number of UGC-funded research postgraduate places by around 30% from the current level of 7 200 to 9 600 in the 2030/31 academic year, so as to support the vibrant development of basic research in Hong Kong.

(ii) Starting from the 2027/28 academic year, gradually increase the annual quota of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme from 400 to 550 places by the 2029/30 academic year.

(iii) Starting from the 2027/28 academic year, an additional funding of $20 million per academic year will be provided to support knowledge transfer, thereby accelerating the transformation of innovative outcomes.

(iv) Starting from the 2029/30 academic year, $40 million a year will be provided under the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education to promote the widespread use of AI and emerging technologies in the higher education sector.

(B) Promote Development of Innovation and Technology and Industries

The Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone

195. Since the Loop Hong Kong Park was officially commissioned last December, over 100 I&T enterprises and institutions have been gradually moving in. The two wet laboratory buildings have been fully leased. The results of the two open tender exercises for the eight land parcels in the remaining batches of Phase 1 will be announced by the end of the year.

196. To implement "institutional innovation and alignment of rules and mechanisms" at Hong Kong Park and Shenzhen Park for realising the development concept of "one river, two banks" and "one zone, two parks" of the co-operation zone, the Government will advance the cross-river connection project on the western side of the Loop and related construction, and proactively facilitate the efficient, convenient and safe flow of researchers and data between the two parks of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.

Establish the National Manufacturing Innovation Centre

197. The HKSAR Government and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) signed the Co-operation Agreement on Advancing the Joint Establishment of Manufacturing Innovation Centre by the Ministry and Hong Kong in July, preparing for the establishment of Hong Kong's first national manufacturing innovation centre, which the MRDI will take the lead in operating. The MRDI has moved into the Microelectronic Centre in Yuen Long. Its two pilot lines, focusing on the R&D and trial production of third generation semiconductors, are being set up in full speed with a target for commencing operation by the end of the year.

San Tin Technopole

198. The Government has established the San Tin Technopole Company Limited, which will adopt a multi-pronged approach for leveraging market forces in expediting land formation for the development of the 210-hectare I&T land.

Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park

199. The Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park Company Limited (Park Company) established by the Government is working to attract enterprises and investments. It has entered into substantive negotiations with several established companies, including those in areas of advanced construction, and testing and certification. The Park Company is also engaging with the Authority of Qianhai of the Shenzhen Municipality and will sign an MoU to establish a mutually beneficial collaboration model, capitalising on their combined industry strengths.

Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster

200. The construction works of the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster have begun. The computing power of the cluster is expected to reach 180 000 peta-floating point operations per second by 2032. That is equivalent to 36 times Hong Kong's current computing power. It will support the development of Hong Kong's intelligent computing industry. Its estimated cumulative investment is expected to reach at least $23.8 billion.

201. The Government will inject $1 billion into the Artificial Intelligence Subsidy Scheme to support the AIRDI in applying high-performance computing power for frontier research, accelerating innovative breakthroughs. We will assess the market demand for computing power, adopting "high efficiency computing power, stable electricity supply, low-carbon transition" as our core direction. This will optimise the operation of Hong Kong's data centres and city-level layout of computing power, supporting the healthy development of the intelligent computing industry.

Advanced Construction Industry Park

202. We have earmarked 30 hectares of land in the NM to develop a large-scale, advanced construction industry park. It will accommodate steel reinforcing bar prefabrication yards and innovative concrete batching plants. The industry park will also introduce facilities for promoting testing and certification of Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) and Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MiMEP), as well as R&D of the construction methods and their training, production and demonstration. In the first half of 2027, the Government will invite the market to submit expressions of interest for the development of an advanced construction industry park of about 10 hectares in Yuen Long South, with a view to commencing the tendering process for the first batch of land no later than the first half of 2028.

(C) Build a Northern Metropolis Ideal for Living, Work and Travel

Commencement of All Nine New Development Areas in the Northern Metropolis

203. Development of the NM is well underway. A cumulative total of about 120 hectares of "spade-ready sites" have been produced up to 2025-26, while no less than 200 hectares of "spade-ready sites" will be produced in 2026-27 and 2027-28.

204. Among the nine NDAs in the NM²⁴, construction works have begun at four of them: Kwu Tung North/Fanling North, Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long South and San Tin Technopole and the Loop. Together, they involve about 800 hectares of land. Site formation and infrastructure works for the fifth NDA (Ngau Tam Mei) will start in the first half of next year, with "spade-ready sites" available progressively, starting at the end of 2028.

205. As for the remaining four NDAs, we will begin statutory planning and related procedures for Lau Fau Shan NDA this year, and progressively next year for the over 200-hectare Priority Development Area (including part of the university town) of Ta Kwu Ling NDA, Au Tau NDA and part of Ma Tso Lung NDA.

Enhance Development Speed and Efficiency

206. The Government will expedite innovative and diverse development to accelerate the development and attract industries to the NM. Various measures proposed in last year's Policy Address, including the "Pay for What You Build" Pilot Scheme, flexible land-grant arrangements and the arrangement of allowing land owners to voluntarily surrender land to offset payable land premiums, have been implemented in an orderly manner.

207. Following the August award of tender under large-scale land disposal in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA, we will launch the tender for the second pilot area in Fanling North at the end of the year at the earliest.

208. The Government will continue to streamline procedures to cut the time and costs of the NM development:

(i) Chaired by the Deputy Financial Secretary, the Working Group on Planning and Development co-ordinates departments to expedite approval processes. Measures include using a digital platform to shorten the approval time for works projects by three to six months; reducing the time for the first approval for building plans of new railway projects by half to 30 days; boosting the bearing capacity of rock layers in foundation designs to save about $1.4 billion in the construction costs of NM public housing; and introducing time limits on approval processes and an escalation mechanism for private developments.

(ii) The Government will adopt a framework procurement model to increase cost effectiveness, and other mechanisms such as Early Contractor Involvement to shorten construction time.

(iii) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) will expand the application scope of the Hong Kong Environmental Database, consolidating over 200 environmental datasets and optimising planning with AI. The database significantly reduces the time needed for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process to about 15 to 24 months from 36 to 48 months, significantly improving project efficiency and reducing costs²⁵. For the NM-related projects, the time needed for the EIA process is targeted at about 15 to 20 months.

Introduce Dedicated Legislation for the Northern Metropolis

209. The Government is working to secure passage of the Northern Metropolis Development Bill in the LegCo this year, and will submit the first batch of five pieces of subsidiary legislation to cover town planning processes, land compensation, building works approval, noise control and cross-boundary flows of people, streamlining procedures to accelerate NM development and facilitating industry operation.

Step Up Efforts to Attract Enterprises and Investments and Intensify Industry Development

210. The Government has implemented the mechanism on preferential policy packages to attract enterprises and investments, as announced in last year's Policy Address. The cross-departmental committee, led by the Financial Secretary, will consider factors such as resources invested by the enterprises, related economic benefits and development potential, to formulate dedicated preferential policy packages. These may cover land grant, land premium concession, financial subsidies and tax concessions, attracting international and national brands and strategic enterprises to establish business operations in Hong Kong. The committee is now reviewing relevant applications from strategic emerging industries, including aerospace and new materials, to establish business operations in Hong Kong.

211. The FSTB plans to introduce an amendment bill into the LegCo by year-end, providing preferential tax rates of 5%, or half-rate, for selected enterprises operating in key sectors such as finance, advanced manufacturing, R&D in I&T, headquarters activities and logistics and supply chain management.

212. The HKIC will continue, through investments, to mobilise market resources, supporting enterprises in establishing a presence in the NM and other GBA cities.

Step up Efforts to Attract Long-term Capital Investment to the Northern Metropolis

213. The Northern Metropolis Financial Advisory Taskforce, jointly established by the HKMA and the Hong Kong Association of Banks in April, will explore public-private partnership approaches and financing arrangements for NM development with the Government and industry park companies. The 23 banks participating in the Taskforce will offer tailored financing solutions for companies moving into the NM, so as to provide precise support for the NM development.

214. The IA will implement lowered capital requirements for eligible investment in infrastructure at the end of the year, releasing more insurance capital to participate in Hong Kong's infrastructure projects, including the NM development.

Achieve Higher Living Standards in the Northern Metropolis

215. For subsidised sale-flat (SSF) projects in the NM to be completed from 2031-32 onwards, the HKHA will increase the proportion of larger flats (those with a saleable area of about 45 square metres or more) from 20% to 25%. The public can enjoy more spacious housing, raising their overall living quality.

Establish the New Territories North Cluster

216. The HA will plan the establishment of the New Territories North Cluster from 2027 onwards, and press ahead with the construction of an integrated teaching and research hospital in Ngau Tam Mei. It will assess the need and feasibility of constructing Hung Shui Kiu Hospital.

Cultural Facilities in the Northern Metropolis

217. The LCSD will develop various cultural facilities in the NM, with construction of the Hong Kong Conservation Repository (formerly the Heritage Conservation and Resource Centre) in Tin Shui Wai and the New Territories East Cultural Centre in Fanling expected to be completed in 2028 and 2030 respectively.

Promote Urban-rural Integration

218. The Government has announced the launching of the $200 million NM Urban-rural Integration Fund. Applications will be invited and the first batch of projects approved next year, capitalising on community wisdom to promote rural tourism.

219. We will publish the Guidelines on Promoting Urban-rural Integration in the NM within this year. The first signature project to be launched next year, the "San Tin Timewalk", will link attractions with features of traditional rural architecture as well as historical and cultural heritage, creating distinctive landmarks and tourist attractions in collaboration with villagers.

Advance Transport Infrastructure

220. The Government is conducting an investigation for the Northern Metropolis Highway. It will prioritise the San Tin Section to serve NDAs, including Kwu Tung North, San Tin Technopole and Ngau Tam Mei, with the target of inviting tenders for the main construction works next year. Suitable national and overseas design standards, alongside advanced construction technologies, will be adopted, with a view to bringing forward the commissioning of the San Tin Section by two years to 2034.

221. The Government will take forward the Tsing Lung Bridge project at the southern end of Route 11, aiming for commissioning in 2033, to meet north south transport demands arising from the NM development.

222. Kwu Tung Station is expected to begin operation next year and become the 100th heavy rail station. As for Hung Shui Kiu Station, an MiC method will be adopted to enhance speed and efficiency, with commissioning of the station targeted for 2030.

223. We will present a preliminary proposal for the southern extension of the Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Rail Link next year to strengthen connectivity between HKIA and the NM, as well as the Mainland.

²¹Located in the San Tin Technopole and Ngau Tam Mei New Development Areas (NDAs).

²²Located in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA.

²³Located in the Ta Kwu Ling NDA (formerly known as the New Territories North New Town).

²⁴The nine NDAs are Kwu Tung North/Fanling North, Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long South, San Tin Technopole and the Loop, Ngau Tam Mei, Lau Fau Shan, Ta Kwu Ling, Ma Tso Lung and Au Tau.

²⁵Take one of the road works in the NM as an example. By using the database to compare alignment proposals, the project team has reduced the affected ecologically sensitive area by nearly 70% while shortening the tunnel section length from about five kilometres to 0.8 kilometres, substantially reducing the project cost (about $40 billion) and its environmental impact.

(To be continued.)

Ends/Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Issued at HKT 13:56

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