Hong Kong to seek expediting Northern Metropolis project after technopole zoning approval
- Development minister Bernadette Linn says government can consider concurrently selling plots while carrying out land formation
Hong Kong’s development minister has floated the idea of speeding up work on the border Northern Metropolis project by concurrently selling plots while carrying out land formation.
Bernadette Linn Hon-ho suggested the move on Saturday, a day after the Town Planning Board gave the go-ahead of the zoning for the controversial 600-hectare (1,483 acres) San Tin Technopole infrastructure project, a key component of the Northern Metropolis plan, despite strong opposition from green groups.
“By selling the land while land formation is under way, the developers who buy the land can immediately start working on building plans,” Lin said on a radio show. “This eliminates the need for everyone to wait for each other.”
The technopole project, introduced by then city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in 2021, calls for creating an innovation and technology hub near the border with Shenzhen.
Linn said the administration would apply for funding from the Legislative Council’s finance committee, adding that the first batch of land could be ready in 2026 if formation work commenced by the end of this year.
