Explainer | How environmental concerns may interrupt Hong Kong’s planned border tech hub
- San Tin Technopole, part of city’s Northern Metropolis development, is designed to attract top tech firms to set up in Hong Kong
- Here, the Post examines green groups’ concerns ahead of crucial meeting of government environmental advisers on Monday
A Hong Kong innovation and technology hub near Shenzhen faces an uncertain future after 10 green groups warned of legal challenges earlier this week if authorities accept the project’s “flawed” environment impact assessment report.
The Post takes a look at the concerns and how it may affect the city’s ambition to increase its advanced technology prowess.
1. What is the San Tin Technopole?
The project calls for turning more than 600 hectares (1,483 acres) near the city’s border into a technology hub. About half of the land will be used to develop innovation and technology industries, while the rest will become a new town centre, yielding up to 54,000 flats.
Green groups are concerned that the technopole project will result in the loss of 240 hectares of the Wetland Conservation Area and the Wetland Buffer Area south of the Shenzhen River.
Most of that wetland area was added in a 2023 amendment to the plan when an environmental impact assessment was already under way.
