University Towns heart of new Northern Metropolis

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu identified the three university towns as the focus of the Northern Metropolis development in yesterday’s policy address, adding that the land reserved for the towns has been expanded.

Lee said the campuses of the three university towns – San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu and Ta Kwu Ling – will be about 300 hectares, triple the previous announcement. With the technology area, the industry area and the living community area, the overall land use will exceed 1,000 hectares.

The aim of the towns is “to foster the integrated development of education, technology and talent," Lee said in the address.

Hung Shui Kiu will be developed first, according to the Five-Year Plan that Lee delivered before the address. The campus site will be allocated this year, and institutions will move in between 2027 and 2028. The nearby Hung Shui Kiu MTR station is expected to open in 2030.

The government will provide financial support for universities including waiving land premiums and offering HK$10 billion in loans.

Universities are expected to self-finance campus operations. They can use their reserves or employ flexible funding model to attract social and market capital, such as issuing bonds, according to the plan.

Terence Chong Tai-Leung, the Executive Director of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said he worried whether universities have sufficient funding to set up operations in the Northern Metropolis.

This is “the biggest uncertainty,” Chong said.

Nineteen local universities have applied for setting up operations in the university towns, and mainland and overseas institutions also have expressed interest.

Only the new medical school of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is confirmed. It will be built in the San Tin university town.