Hong Kong can do much more to develop northern New Territories, ease pressure on city’s built-up areas, retiring official says

Areas occupied by ‘NIMBY’ facilities can be used for business, innovation and technology clusters

Former permanent secretary warns of construction sector manpower crunch as mega projects take off

Reading Time:3 minutes

Lam Sai-hung, former permanent secretary for development (works), explained how Hong Kong can better use existing land in the New Territories. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 12:00pm, 26 Dec 2021Updated: 7:09pm, 26 Dec 2021

Hong Kong’s blueprint to develop a Northern Metropolis is a step in the right direction, but a recently retired senior official says planners can do much more to turn underused sites in the New Territories into business clusters and ease severe congestion in the south.

Lam Sai-hung, former permanent secretary for development (works), also warned that a looming manpower crunch could affect major infrastructure projects the government planned to roll out over the next two decades.

He urged officials to think through how to avoid delays and cost overruns, as the construction industry was already feeling the effects of an ageing workforce and shortage of workers.

In an exclusive interview with the Post, Lam highlighted the potential to develop areas of the New Territories near the border with mainland China as a way to ease congestion in heavily built-up southern areas closer to Kowloon.

“The northern part is used for unpleasant ‘NIMBY’ – not in my backyard – facilities such as cemeteries, slaughterhouses and sewage treatment plants, whereas the southern part is the government’s focus for urban development,” he said.

“This has resulted in a massive number of people swarming into the south for opportunities, leaving the north underdeveloped, suffering a lack of jobs and economic activities.”

Lam, who retired recently after 38 years in the civil service, said Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s vision of a new Northern Metropolis was on the right track.

The plan aims to turn parts of the New Territories near the mainland border into an economic and residential hub for about 2.5 million people, creating up to 68,000 jobs in 20 years’ time.