HK seeks clarity on roles of airports
The Hong Kong government said it would look for a clearer division of roles among airports in the Pearl River Delta region after the central government said the region should become a regional hub for international logistics.
The National Development and Reform Commission said yesterday that the region would develop a modern service structure that accommodated the needs of Hong Kong, and become a centre for international shipping, logistics, trade, conferences, exhibitions and tourism.
The Hong Kong government said it would work with neighbouring cities to ensure a clear division of roles for ports and airports in the region.
Hung Wing-tat, a logistics expert and professor at Polytechnic University, said the development plan hinted that the region's airports should co-operate, rather than compete, with each other. 'Under this clear instruction, the Hong Kong government should consider going ahead with the logistics park proposed for Lantau Island as early as possible.'
Bauhinia Foundation senior fellow Zhu Wenhui said the commission's announcement yesterday endorsed new planning concepts and would clear some hurdles to cross-boundary integration. Hong Kong universities had not been allowed to set up branches on the mainland, and there had been limits on using funding from a city on one side of the border to study issues on the other side, he said. 'These problems are expected to be solved soon.'
Zheng Tianxiang , a professor of economics at Zhongshan University's Pearl River Delta Research Institute in Guangzhou, said closer co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong was easier said than done.
Some 'fundamental differences' between Hong Kong and Guangdong needed to be sorted out first, he said. 'Hong Kong still seems to treat Guangdong as its backyard factory.'
