MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Deputy President, with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“GBA”), the development of New Territories North in Hong Kong will become more and more important. The development of New Territories North will not only provide a vast area of residential land to help resolve the housing difficulties, but will also become a bridgehead for Hong Kong enterprises to enter GBA due to its proximity to Shenzhen. Besides, the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (“HSITP”) in the Lok Ma Chau Loop will facilitate the technological cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Thus, the development of New Territories North is closely related to Hong Kong indeed.
The Government intends to apply to the Finance Committee (“FC”) of the Legislative Council for a funding of $790 million to commence the planning study on the New Territories North development project that covers three areas, among which the work on the 320-hectare San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node will commence first. The construction work is expected to commence in 2025, providing 30 000 residential flats that can accommodate 80 000 residents. The Development Node also reserves land for technology, business and entertainment uses which can generate 64 000 job opportunities. The other two development areas, totalling 1 140 hectares, could accommodate 200 000 population and provide 134 000 jobs. It is expected that the studies on the two areas will commence in the second half of the year.
The Government has already introduced the development plan to the Panel on Development. While Members agreed to the project, they criticized the slow progress of development. In fact, apart from the slow progress of the preliminary feasibility studies, we also witnessed that the whole processes of land development and approval are also quite slow. If FC approves the funding, the investigation and engineering plan of the San Tin/Lok Ma Chau part could proceed immediately. The construction works, however, cannot start until 2025. The intake for the first 1 000 residents will not take place until 2032, and the intake for the majority of population will not commence until the commissioning of the Northern Link in 2034. The whole process will take at least 13 years, excluding the time for conducting preliminary study.
I am not an engineering expert and do not understand the difficulties of the engineering proposals. Perhaps the Government can give explanation for that. However, in terms of the work schedule, the progress of the whole project has been slower than a snail. Before the return of sovereignty to China, Hong Kong was able to complete the construction of the new airport, Airport Express, Route 3 and Tung Chung New Town in less than 10 years. Today, we are only talking about the development of the 320-hectare San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node, not including the remaining two development areas which cover a larger area of land, but it has to take 13 years before the intake can take place.
In fact, the Legislative Council has relayed to the Chief Executive over and over again that the planning for land development as well as vetting and approval process have been slow. The Chief Executive also said that she would personally steer the internal coordination to ensure that all the bureaux and departments concerned would overcome all difficulties to increase land supply. We are so concerned about this not only because there is a need to resolve the housing problem, but also because New Territories North is related to the development of GBA and HSITP, which are all pillars of the economy in the future. In the past, Hong Kong has remained stagnant due to political wrangling, posing many obstacles to construction works. Our society has now got back on track. I think only the government departments know how outdated and unnecessary procedures can be cut. I believe the Secretary for Development is the one to shoulder the responsibilities in this regard. The problems of the past have nothing to do with him because in the old days, there were only obstacles or accusations and no one dared to do anything, right? Situations have changed now. I hope that the Secretary will make use of his experience in the Development Bureau … I believe only government officials know how and what changes can be made to speed up the processes. I have heard many people saying that it might take three years to build a building in the past, but in recent years, the project may remain uncompleted even after seven years. What has gone wrong and in what ways? I hope that the Secretary can really exert great effort to make changes as this would be of great help to Hong Kong.
Most of the land control points along the boundary between Hong Kong and Shenzhen are located in New Territories North. Currently, the boundary area of Shenzhen has maturely developed, while New Territories North in Hong Kong has remained barren. Upon development, New Territories North will become the connecting point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and serve as a hub for the convergence of people, goods flow, business and innovation. With the continuous development of GBA, it is believed that enterprises will be attracted to settle in New Territories North, making it a bridgehead for entering the Mainland market. It is thus not difficult to imagine the importance of New Territories North. Therefore, the Government should put this as the focus of development in its planning, and at the same time, maintain communication with Shenzhen and work on the ancillary facilities, so that New Territories North can play a bridging role between the two places.
Thank you, Deputy President.