Why the Northern Metropolis needs more than one big push

Hong Kong’s government is under mounting pressure to deliver the Northern Metropolis, announced in 2021, as it approaches the end of its term – less than 15 months and counting. The megaproject, to turn 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) near the border with mainland China into a centre of international innovation and technology, is to be an engine to drive the city’s economic growth and housing – and the gem of its economic integration with the mainland.

We are pressed for time. Beijing has long urged the city to get on with national plans but leaders have upped the ante significantly in recent years. Xia Baolong, Beijing’s official overseeing Hong Kong affairs, has been relentless in pushing the message. The stars are aligned for Hong Kong in China’s 15th five-year plan, Xia said, emphasising the need for Hong Kong – and Macau – to comprehend the plan’s “extraordinary significance” for them.

Xia has kept at it with fact-finding trips to the Greater Bay Area, meeting Hong Kong officials over the university town proposed under the Northern Metropolis and urging the business community to show their patriotism through “concrete actions” – investing in innovation and the Northern Metropolis are how this city’s business leaders are to show their love for their country.