Prospect of Hung Shui Kiu

While the government works hard promoting the North East New Territories Development Plan, a similar project in the North West New Territories (NWNT) Development Plan - the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area Planning and Engineering Study - has entered the second stage of consultation. This author believes Hung Shui Kiu (HSK) is not just another residential housing development project, because it serves a number of important strategic objectives, and should be implemented as soon as possible.

First of all, the HSK development plan can further energize the development of the "Greater NWNT Area". The NWNT includes large residential areas such as Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, with populations of some 500,000 in Tuen Mun, 300,000 in Tin Shui Wai and nearly 300,000 in Yuen Long for a total of more than 1 million. However, these areas have been suffering from lack of economic activities for quite some time and are in serious need of employment opportunities. For instance, Tin Shui Wai has been known as a "sad city" because of high unemployment and crime rates resulting from poor planning that emphasized residential capacity over economic productivity.

That is why the HSK New Development Area (HSKNDA) is a welcome step in the right direction, because the government plans to build it into the urban center of NWNT with an eye on creating 100,000 job opportunities and pulling along the economic growth of surrounding areas.

Second, the HSKNDA will have land lots reserved for logistics, information technology, retail and hospitality services, which are expected to add economic vitality to the area. It is a right decision planning-wise because the HSKNDA is near the Shenzhen Bay and a highway linking the western New Territories and western Shenzhen, a geographical advantage feeding off further integration of the Hong Kong and mainland economies in years to come. In addition to industrial and commercial productivity, the area also boasts natural features such as mountain trails and wetlands, which can facilitate the development of eco-tourism.

The author is a current affairs commentator. This is an excerpted translation of his article published in Hong Kong Commercial Daily on July 25.

(HK Edition 07/26/2013 page1)