In the 2021 Policy Address, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government proposed the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy. 

The HKSAR government plans to cooperate with Shenzhen to promote the planning and development concept, “Twin Cities, Three Circles”, which aims to develop the northern part of Hong Kong into an area suitable for living, working and traveling, while at the same time injecting new impetus into the economic development of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The proposed Northern Metropolis covers an area of 300 sq km, which is 30 times the size of the proposed Kau Yi Chau artificial islands in the Central Waters which is currently being studied. The Northern Metropolis project will offer ample potential and opportunities for development. But there are constraints and challenges that need to be overcome by the government along with all sectors of society.

First of all, unlike artificial islands or near-shore reclamation areas wherein all available land resources are owned by the government and for which development planning is like drawing on a piece of blank paper, the development planning for the Northern Metropolis is much more complex as its land consists of mountains, rivers, wetlands and built-up areas. 

Moreover, many sites in the region have been zoned for different uses under various existing outline zoning plans, and may be restricted to specific uses under the leases governing the sites, many of which have multiple ownership. The currently designated usages, or the existing uses, of some land sites may be inconsistent with their preferred uses under the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy. 

There will be controversy over which land sites will maintain their currently designated uses and which sites are to be rezoned for other purposes and which may have to be resumed compulsorily.

Compared with the issue of land-use zoning, it would be more difficult and challenging to deal with the existing residents, business operators, and other users of land in the areas designated for the future Northern Metropolis. 

In terms of residents, there are many traditional indigenous villages in the area, with villages and small houses built over different periods. There are also shanties, illegally built by squatters on private or government land.  The stakeholders in the area include farmers, owners of fishponds and livestock farms, brownfield business operators, tenants of old industrial estates, and so forth. 

There are also many ancestral halls that are used for religious purposes, ancient buildings with historical and cultural value, a large number of legal or illegal tombs and niches, and geographical features with Feng Shui or geomantic values. 

Issues such as what is to be retained, what should be relocated or removed, and how those people affected are resettled and compensated need to be properly handled.

In addition, the proposed Northern Metropolis covers at least 10 existing towns or new development areas. Fanling/Sheung Shui New Town, Yuen Long New Town and Tin Shui Wai New Town have long been developed; Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, Kwu Tung North/Fanling North New Development Area, Yuen Long South Development Area and Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in Lok Ma Chau Loop are being developed or are in the planning and design stage.

The development plans for San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node, Man Kam To Logistics Corridor and New Territories North New Town have been proposed or are currently under active planning. The government needs to integrate these development areas in the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy.

The government emphasizes that it will develop the Northern Metropolis under the infrastructure-led approach and has proposed at least seven new railway lines and three main road projects. 

The former includes the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link connecting Hung Shui Kiu and Qianhai, Shenzhen; the main line of the Northern Ring Road; the eastward extension of the Northern Ring Road; the northern extension of the East Rail Line; the Central Railway Line, connecting Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands and Hong Kong Island; and the Lau Fau Shan-Pak Nai automatic rapid transit system. The latter includes the development of Route 11 and the Tuen Mun Bypass, both of which have been planned for many years, as well as the Northern Metropolis Highway, which was recently proposed.

The above-mentioned transportation infrastructure projects seem to be quite grand and comprehensive, which will help greatly improve the external and internal connectivity of the Northern Metropolis and increase its residential and industrial development capacity upon completion. However, all these infrastructure projects are either still in the preliminary stage of design and planning or at the stage of conceptual proposal. For some of these projects, the commencement date of construction is not yet known.

However, a few new housing projects in the Northern Metropolis will have their first batch of residents move in next year. There will be a considerable time lag between the completion of housing and transportation infrastructure projects. Will this mean those residents will have to live there for some years with insufficient public transportation and community facilities? How can we ensure that the planned additional population and new industries will not have an adverse impact on the existing residents and land users?

“Home-job balance” is another major issue to be considered. According to current information, when completed, there will be as many as 900,000 residential units in the Northern Metropolis, which will be able to accommodate a population of approximately 2.5 million. The government estimates that various new and old industries in the area can provide about 650,000 jobs for local residents, which will help reduce the large number of residents in the northern districts currently traveling to urban areas on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon for work every day, and thus reduce overall demand for transportation, as well as mitigate traffic congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, some people have noted that the housing projects planned for many new development areas in the Northern Metropolis are largely public housing, while the newly added industries are more focused on innovative technology and high-end logistics operations. 

There may be a mismatch between the supply of labor and jobs that will lead to a home-job imbalance. Therefore, should there be more diversified development of industries in the Northern Metropolis, or should the proportions of the public and private housing ratio be adjusted in some of the districts?

Apart from the above-mentioned concerns, there are also issues such as environmental protection and ecological conservation needs, financial arrangements, and manpower resources required, none of which should be overlooked.

I would like to emphasize that the purpose of highlighting these various constraints and challenges is not to question or oppose the development of the Northern Metropolis. It is hoped that the officials in charge of developing the Northern Metropolis will consider all these issues and map out the necessary solutions during the planning process, so that the Northern Metropolis project will be a successful one that we can be proud of.

The author is a member of the Legislative Council representing the Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape functional constituency.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.