Northern Metropolis: fast-tracking the development of a 'new city' next to Shenzhen
In his annual address, Chief Executive John Lee announced special legislation to speed up a futuristic project for a new metropolis in the New Territories, the area closest to mainland China. The goal is to bring 2.5 million new residents, centred around a major tech hub. This is also part of a political plan to turn a page in a major Asian crossroads where growth has stalled since the events of 2020.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In his annual address outlining Hong Kong’s political priorities, the Special Administrative Region’s Chief Executive, John Lee, announced a few days ago plans for the development of the 'Northern Metropolis', the area in the New Territories closest to Shenzhen, to make it the “new engine” of the former British colony. To this end, statutory procedures will be streamlined, red tape cut, and approvals fast-tracked.
The message is clear. Hong Kong (and Beijing) want to push a project considered the most eloquent symbol of Hong Kong’s ever-deepening integration with mainland China, starting with the Pearl River Delta, the large metropolitan area linking Guangdong metropolises with Hong Kong and Macau.
The idea of the Northern Metropolis was launched by former governor Carrie Lam in 2021. It would be built in the North District and Yuen Long District, in the New Territories, covering about a third of Hong Kong's entire surface area.
The heart of the project is the creation of a tech hub called San Tin Technopole and a university campus, facilities that would naturally look to Shenzhen, China's “Silicon Valley.”
According to government plans, the goal is to attract 2.5 million people to this new part of the city, destined to rise from scratch, creating 650,000 jobs.
Such a transformation must be understood within a context, that of a metropolis that has stopped growing after the harsh crackdown of 2020 with the introduction of the national security legislation following pro-democracy protests.
In the past few years, Hong Kong’s population has remained stable at around 7.5 million, but hundreds of thousands of new arrivals from mainland China have replaced the many young people and families who have chosen to emigrate.
At the same time, many multinational financial companies that had their headquarters in Hong Kong have moved to Singapore, concerned about the degraded guarantees of freedom implied in the slogan, "one country, two systems."
Following the example of other cities under construction like Neom in Saudi Arabia and Nusantara, the new capital of Indonesia, the Northern Metropolis is emerging as a project that symbolises a certain political orientation, even more than an economic initiative.
This explains why John Lee is in a hurry, announcing the passage of dedicated legislation within the year that will give the government the power to draft “simplified statutory procedures” for approving building plans and to set up companies responsible for managing the various development zones included in the project.
Not everyone in Hong Kong is enthusiastic about the Northern Metropolis. Residents of the small settlements currently present in the areas affected by the project and environmentalists have long expressed concerns that the urban development plan will disrupt lives and cause widespread damage to what is currently an environmentally protected area.
In response, the government has proposed a series of measures to compensate for the environmental damage, such as the establishment of a wetland conservation park and the designation of a bird flight corridor.
Other criticisms concern the project's potential for attracting foreign investment. According to a report by Radio Free Asia last February, nearly a third of the contracts awarded so far for the Northern Metropolis and other major projects currently underway in Hong Kong have been awarded to Chinese state-owned companies.
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09/03/2023 15:36
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