Policy Address | 30,000 hectares of northern metropolis will be developed to acquire private wetlands involving 900,000 residential units

The Chief Executive Carrie Lam today (6th) released the last "Policy Address" in the term of the current government, in which the New Territories North Development Plan will undergo radical changes.

Carrie Lam announced the "Northern Metropolitan Area Development Strategy". In the future, the northern metropolitan area will include mature new towns such as Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, Fanling, Sheung Shui, and its adjacent rural areas, as well as 6 proposed ones. New development areas and development hubs in the country, including Kwu Tung North/Fanling North, Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Village New Development Area, etc.

She predicts that the northern metropolitan area can open up about 600 hectares of land for residential and industrial purposes, and it is estimated that about 165,000 to 186,000 residential units can be provided.

When the development of the entire northern metropolitan area is completed in the future, 905,000 to 926,000 units can be provided, which can accommodate about 2.5 million people in total.

It is worth noting that Carrie Lam mentioned that the government will gradually recover hundreds of hectares of privately-owned wetlands and fish ponds, which means that conservation zones that have been regarded as "forbidden areas" for development in the past may welcome bulldozers in the near future.

The Lok Ma Chau Loop covers approximately 100 hectares, and the wetlands and fish ponds surrounding the area have high ecological value.

The Policy Address now proposes to release some wetlands around the Loop and the adjacent wetland buffer zone.

(Photo by Liang Pengwei)

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor mentioned that the northern metropolitan area will include two local administrative regions, namely the Yuen Long District and the North District, covering an area of ​​about 300 square kilometers, or about 30,000 hectares of land.

The northern metropolitan area includes mature new towns such as Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, Fanling, Sheung Shui and its adjacent rural areas. There are 6 new development areas and development hubs that have been proposed earlier, including Kwu Tung North/ Fanling North, Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Village, Yuen Long South, San Tin/Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and North New Town in the New Territories.

Approximately 600 hectares of land has been opened up in the northern metropolitan area

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that the current planned or planned development projects in the northern metropolitan area are expected to provide about 350,000 residential units. The northern metropolitan area can develop an additional 600 hectares of land for residential and industrial purposes. The number of residential units provided is about 165,000 to 186,000.

Together with the existing 390,000 residential units in Yuen Long and North Districts, it is expected that after the completion of the entire northern metropolitan area, the total number of residential units will reach 905,000 to 926,000.

In the future, the number of jobs in the metropolitan area will also increase significantly from 116,000 to about 650,000, including 150,000 related jobs in the innovation and technology industry.

▼Hetao District▼

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Hundreds of hectares of wetlands and fish ponds will be recovered

Carrie Lam mentioned that the northern metropolis has a rich and diverse ecological environment.

The "Development Strategy" stated that an active conservation policy must be formulated and implemented. In the future, the government will gradually recover hundreds of hectares of privately-owned wetlands and fish ponds to "optimize management". The ecological function of the wetland is about 2,000 hectares of conservation land.

Build an international innovation and technology center, build a Xintian science and technology city

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that the northern metropolis will build an international innovation and technology center and create a unique urban landscape of "urban and rural integration, development and conservation coexisting"; and the Victoria Harbour Metropolis will also be expanded to include the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision" Reclamation of Jiaoyizhou artificial island.

The "Development Strategy" proposes to make good use of the land vacated after the Lok Ma Chau Control Point moved to the Shenzhen New Huanggang Port, and some adjacent fish ponds and rural land, plus the original land planning in the Xintian/Lok Ma Chau Development Hub. A total of about 150 hectares of land will be added for innovation and technology purposes to build Xintian Technology City.

▼Heung Yuen Wai ▼

Carrie Lam also pointed out that the northern metropolitan area has seven cross-border land ports, describing them as the most important area in Hong Kong to promote the integration of Hong Kong and Shenzhen and link the Greater Bay Area.

She said that Hong Kong and Shenzhen are now closely interacting to form a spatial pattern of "two cities and three circles". The "two cities" refer to Hong Kong and Shenzhen; the "three circles" from west to east are the Shenzhen Bay High-Quality Development Zone and Shenzhen Bay. The Hong Kong-Shenzhen close interaction circle and the Dapeng Bay/Yinzhoutang Ecological Recreation and Tourism Circle.

She described that the establishment of the spatial concept of "two cities and three circles" is beneficial to the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments to jointly promote the close cooperation between the two places in economy, infrastructure, innovation and technology, people's livelihood and ecological environment.

Policy Address | 30,000 hectares of northern metropolis will be developed to acquire private wetlands involving 900,000 residential units

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