Northern Metropolis Clears Villages for Massive Tech Hub
HKFP · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis project is advancing with the clearance of village homes, including the ancestral house of 71-year-old villager Chan Yuk-tong, as authorities press ahead with a large-scale high-tech hub. The development is intended to deepen links with mainland China, diversify the economy and add housing, while critics say the scale of the plan will damage rural communities, wetlands and public finances.
Key Points
- The Northern Metropolis was announced five years ago and will eventually cover 30,000 hectares, roughly a third of Hong Kong.
- The government says the project will become a “new economic engine” for about 2.5 million residents and 650,000 jobs.
- Chan Yuk-tong, 71, said he had hoped to spend the rest of his life in his blue-brick village home before it is bulldozed.
- Liber Research Community said at least 25 villages will be demolished, and questioned whether the project’s scale is too ambitious.
- Government departments told AFP they want to integrate rural areas into the plan, but said Chan’s ancestral houses lack sufficient cultural significance to preserve.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the dispute goes beyond one redevelopment project because it pits housing and economic planning against the survival of long-established villages and ecologically sensitive land. It also shows how a flagship integration plan with the Greater Bay Area is being pursued despite longstanding public unease over closer alignment with mainland China.