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Dennis Lee

When living in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci envisioned the utopian city as one with two levels. The upper level would be where noble people lived, breathed and relaxed; the lower level – hidden below the streets – would have a knitted network of canals and routes for delivery, services, utilities and logistics.
While conventional by today’s urban planning standards, his idea was visionary in the Milan of his time. The lack of sanitary awareness helped perpetuate the bubonic plague which killed more than one-third of its citizens.
However, even the genius of Da Vinci is unlikely to have imagined that a city could have a third level, one that could transform services and enhance the economy in the contemporary world. That is, of course, if the low-altitude economy lives up to the hype and creates an unprecedented market.
According to figures from the Civil Aviation Administration, China’s low-altitude economy was estimated at more than 500 billion yuan (US$69 billion) at the end of 2023 and is expected to reach 2 trillion yuan by 2030. Given the many potential drivers of this new sector – including government grants and subsidies, the cost of enhancing 5G and 6G network infrastructure and more – it is difficult to nail down an accurate estimate of a low-altitude economy’s financial impact.
Putting aside its effect on the economy, what would be the big deal if we had drones flying over our heads to deliver bubble tea? More specifically, how would a low-altitude economy transform urban development, logistics and transport?


In terms of services and delivery, it might not change much in our environment or how we live and go about our day-to-day business. Most Hongkongers live in flats, and drones are unlikely to deliver the merchandise directly to our homes but instead take it to designated lockers.
This is not much different from the current practice of logistics companies setting up satellite stations around the city for us to pick up our online purchases. While delivery by drone might be fashionable, what matters in the end is getting what we bought – exactly how it gets into our hands is irrelevant.
A true game-changer would be commercialising low-altitude aircraft for passenger transport. Winnie Tang, an adjunct professor at the University of Hong Kong, has pointed to the efforts in neighbouring Guangdong province to implement such services and argued that Hong Kong should work towards launching flights to other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
The vision of commuters navigating between skyscrapers or hovering over Victoria Harbour is akin to that of films such as Blade Runner. With any means of transport, though, safety is the top priority. Even if operators of drones carrying people could foresee all possible risks – such as battery failure, mid-air collisions and loss of signal – accidents may occur because they are by definition beyond our expectations.


In the event of a vehicle accident on the ground, passengers can walk away from a minor incident and emergency help can arrive in an efficient manner. If passenger-carrying drones get into accidents, however, the low-altitude economy would not be low enough for safe ejection. Even being 100 metres above ground would be akin to jumping from a skyscraper and likely too low for any parachute to work.
In addition to passengers, any object falling from the sky after an accident would be a serious public safety hazard. Are we supposed to keep looking up at the sky when we walk on the streets in addition to dodging cars at ground level?
Before we get too excited about low-altitude businesses reviving Hong Kong’s sluggish economy, we must address all the relevant safety concerns and practical applications. Much as we would like to follow in the mainland’s footsteps in developing and taking advantage of the latest technology, we have our own transport concerns and rules around public safety.
One example is Didi Chuxing. While the ride-hailing service is widely used on the mainland, the Hong Kong government has yet to legalise or regulate such services.

This does not mean that Hong Kong is unwilling to learn and adapt, but neither do we want to build up our expectations for the next big thing only to be disappointed later.
We can first test out the use of commercial and industrial drones for essential yet challenging services. These could include conducting building inspections in areas difficult for inspectors to reach, geological and land surveying, weather monitoring, crime-fighting, firefighting and providing first aid services.
During this learning phase, we should focus on the tangible benefits drones can bring to our lives. We must not start spending taxpayers’ money until we know what we truly need and the goals we intend to achieve.


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Low-altitude economy

Hong Kong should look before it leaps into low-altitude economy

A drone delivering seafood takes off from a pier in Shenzhen on February 5. Photo: Xinhua

A driver opens the Didi Chuxing ride-hailing app on his smartphone in Beijing. Photo: AFP

How Hong Kong can help ‘Bay Area in the Sky’ take flight

Drones take the shape of a horse painted by Chinese artist Xu Beihong during a show over Victoria Harbour on September 28. Photo: Dickson Lee

People visit the exhibition booth of a drone company during the 26th China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen on November 14. Photo: Xinhua

Meituan aims to launch drone deliveries in Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy

A Meituan drone delivers takeout food to customers in Shenzhen, China. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

A Meituan drone landing on an express delivery station in Shenzhen. Photo: Xinhua

Low-altitude economy’s ambitions collide with lack of drone pilots

A Meituan delivery drone is seen on display at the Global Digital Economy Conference 2022 in Beijing. Photo: Shutterstock

Drones are prepared for flight tests in Shenzhen last month. Photo: Xinhua

Shenzhen to invest US$1.7 billion in economy for flying cars, drones by 2026

The Xpeng X2 flying car pictured in Guangzhou on May 15. Chinese cities are pouring resources into supporting the low-altitude economy. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion

Hong Kong Opinion

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

We must not start spending taxpayers’ money until we know what we truly need from the low-altitude economy and the goals we intend to achieve


We must not start spending taxpayers’ money until we know what we truly need from the low-altitude economy and the goals we intend to achieve.


Hong Kong economy

Drones

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Hong Kong should look before it leaps into low-altitude economy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}We must not start spending taxpayers’ money until we know what we truly need from the low-altitude economy and the goals we intend to achieve

We must not start spending taxpayers’ money until we know what we truly need from the low-altitude economy and the goals we intend to achieve