Concrete Analysis | Will Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis Development Strategy lead to a brave new world?
- New structures, such as the creation of a deputy chief executive role, will be needed to ensure that the many components of delivering the strategy are properly coordinated
- The government must undertake large-scale land resumption followed by clearance
We should all welcome and support this holistic approach to strategic planning which, if properly executed, will deliver a city good for people to live in, work and travel to.
Also welcome is the “paradigm shift in respect of mode of thinking for Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation, spatial concept, policy formulation and institutional establishment”, which underlies the proposed action items such as creating cross-boundary ecological corridors, resumption of land necessary for conservation, plus the effective realisation and efficient execution of this bold strategy.
Hong Kong has never attempted such a broad and ambitious plan so the importance of having the necessary structures in place to deliver this outcome are crucial. All the previous major infrastructure projects such as the new towns and the new airport were very much engineering led, but now that conservation and quality of life elements are to be planned in, as equals, right from the start to integrate with the engineering elements, building the right structure to balance out and deliver these sometimes competing and opposite requirements will require very skilful leadership.
06:09
Farming families ponder future under Hong Kong government’s Northern Metropolis plans
A common criticism of local governance is the “separate silo” mentality that prevails between the different bureaus, which can frustrate and delay implementation of new policies. A new structure will be needed that can overcome this problem if this ambitious vision is to be delivered on time and within budget.