Concrete Analysis | Bridgehead economy on Lantau could play key role in Pearl River Delta
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge could pave the way for more development on Lantau to help ease land resource issues
The recent announcement of a two-year delay to the completion of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has come as a great disappointment to the general public and policymakers.
Let us hope there will not be a similar holdup to the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which is scheduled for completion in 2016.
The completion of the bridge will be a crucial strategic step towards filling in the missing link between Hong Kong and the western shore of the Pearl River Delta to form a triangular route connecting the key cities in the delta that will facilitate business and tourism flows within the region.
Headline statistics for the delta show that the western area trails the central and eastern zones in terms of economic development. The central and eastern zones, led by Guangzhou and Shenzhen respectively, each have a gross domestic product of roughly US$350 billion. However, GDP in the western zone is less than a third of this figure.
A comprehensive masterplan is required to make the best use of what is a massive land bank
This leads one to ask whether the bridge will primarily benefit cities in the western zone. I believe this will not be the case. If Hong Kong can leverage on the bridge and develop a bridgehead economy on Lantau Island, this will help solve various bottleneck issues facing the city.
