Macroscope | How the Northern Metropolis land plan can address price and rezoning pitfalls
- The cost of land must be reduced within a carefully planned framework to be attractive but not hurt the existing market
- To draw tech game-changers, a business park model would be a good option

While on its surface this seems like a good answer to boosting Hong Kong’s attractiveness to big-name players, there are several pitfalls Chan needs to avoid. Chan’s remarks suggest that these companies will be allowed to directly negotiate for the land with the government instead of going through the tendering process.
One of the city’s most pressing drawback is the price of land. Hong Kong has some of the most expensive properties in the world. These costs must be reduced within a carefully planned framework to be attractive but not hurt the existing market.
Much of the cost comes from the initial purchase and then seeking rezoning to change the land use restrictions. If the government makes massive concessions for certain businesses, others will not be happy and property prices could be destabilised.