Qianhai Authority plans for high-speed rail extension linking Lantau reclamation to Shenzhen economic zone – without telling Hong Kong
- Mainland exhibition centre for pilot development site splashes proposal on transport system map for bay area, without official announcement
- Hong Kong authorities deny concealing plan and say there are no intentions to build link
Authorities of an economic zone in Shenzhen have made plans for an extension of the cross-border high-speed rail that would connect to a proposed Hong Kong metropolis of artificial islands – without telling their counterparts.
The Qianhai Authority has not officially revealed the move, but plans for it have quietly been on display on the ground floor of an official exhibition centre for the pilot development zone. The concept was splashed across a “transport system map” depicting the “Greater Bay Area”.
Under the bay area scheme, the Chinese government intends to link Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and eight other mainland cities into an economic and innovation powerhouse.
In the map, the local section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link that opened in the West Kowloon terminus last year would branch out to the East Lantau metropolis, run through the New Territories and cross the border to Qianhai, joining the national network.
The East Lantau plan, also known as the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, centres on man-made islands that would cost HK$624 billion (US$80 billion) to create, and become the city’s housing and business hub of the future.