Hong Kong villages face demolition for $28.6bn tech hub

Hong Kong villages are being cleared for the Northern Metropolis, a planned high-tech and housing hub that the government says will cost at least HK$224 billion, or US$28.6 billion.

The project, announced five years ago, will eventually cover 30,000 hectares in northern Hong Kong, including villages, farmland and natural wetlands. Authorities say it is intended to deepen integration with mainland China, diversify the economy and provide new homes.

The government has promoted the development as a new economic engine that could house about 2.5 million residents and provide 650,000 jobs. It is also meant to connect Hong Kong more closely with Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities in the Greater Bay Area.

Liber Research Community, a Hong Kong land issues NGO, says at least 25 villages will be demolished. Brian Wong of the group warned that building a new city in a previously preserved area would be destructive and questioned whether the project was too large.

Government departments told AFP they aim to integrate rural areas into the development, but said ancestral houses belonging to resident Chan Yuk-tong were not culturally significant enough to preserve. Chan, 71, told AFP he had hoped to spend the rest of his life in the village where he was born and raised.

Global ratings agency S&P estimates the project could cost more than HK$360 billion. Authorities have promised a return on investment, citing bank estimates and a rough 20-year timeline under which the Northern Metropolis would account for 13 percent of Hong Kong's gross domestic product.

Last month, the first large-scale land sale in the project was awarded to a consortium of six companies, including Chinese state-owned enterprises and e-commerce company JD.com, to build housing and a logistics centre in Chan's area.

Analysts quoted by AFP said Hong Kong could attract mainland companies seeking research centres, lower taxes, talent, data and capital flows, but also faces questions over whether it can maintain cross-border efficiency while preserving international confidence in the city's distinct status.