Hong Kong development chief admits he knew nothing about plans for high-speed rail extension linking proposed Lantau metropolis to Shenzhen economic zone in Qianhai

Secretary for Development Michael Wong says he only learned about the scheme from news reports on Friday

Authorities in Qianhai have not officially revealed the move, but plans for it have been on display at an exhibition centre there

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A line would branch from the West Kowloon terminus to a proposed East Lantau metropolis and then on to Qianhai. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 5:53pm, 23 Mar 2019Updated: 11:27pm, 23 Mar 2019

Hong Kong’s development minister admitted on Saturday he did not know an economic zone in Shenzhen had made plans for an extension of a cross-border express rail link that would connect to a proposed metropolis off Lantau until he read it in the news.

“I only learned about it when it was revealed in the news on Friday,” Michael Wong Wai-lun said. “I respect the ideas held by Qianhai or other places near Hong Kong.”

Asked if he felt the city’s autonomy in urban planning had been eroded, the secretary for development said: “I don’t think other places will affect us.”

The authorities in Qianhai, a 15 sq km pilot development zone in Shenzhen, have not officially revealed the move, but plans for it have been on display on the ground floor of an exhibition centre there.

Michael Wong says he read about the plan in the news. Photo: Dickson Lee

The concept was splashed across a “transport system map” depicting the “Greater Bay Area”, a scheme under which the central government intends to link Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and eight other mainland cities into an economic and innovation powerhouse.