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Hong Kong economy
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Hong Kong exploring use of drone delivery service in New Territories: transport official

  • Government looking at Northern Metropolis, Kau Yi Chau artificial islands as sites for pilot projects, as both have sufficient open spaces

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An unmanned food delivery drone pictured in Shenzhen. Photo: Xinhua
Lo Hoi-ying

Hong Kong is exploring the use of drones for delivering goods in the New Territories in a “gradual and orderly” manner, amid calls from lawmakers to follow mainland China’s development of a “low-altitude economy” to drive growth.

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A transport official revealed on Wednesday that new development areas such as the Northern Metropolis and the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands – previously known as the Lantau Tomorrow Vision – would be feasible locations for its pilot projects, as they had sufficient open spaces that allowed drones to avoid crowds.

“The government will implement pilot projects for the low-altitude economy in a gradual and orderly manner,” Liu Chun-san, undersecretary for transport and logistics, told lawmakers.

“[We will] start with the transport of goods by unmanned aircraft, and then gradually widen and enrich the application scenarios of Advanced Air Mobility from near to the far, and from light to heavy.”

Earlier in March, Chinese Premier Li Qiang singled out the “low-altitude economy” as one of the fields the country needed to foster as a new growth engine.

Illustration of the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands, one of two sites identified by authorities as feasible locations for “low-altitude economy” pilot projects. Photo: Legco
Illustration of the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands, one of two sites identified by authorities as feasible locations for “low-altitude economy” pilot projects. Photo: Legco

On the mainland, civil unmanned aircraft pilot areas are used in establishing low-altitude economy development zones and test flight areas.

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