Hong Kong lawmakers raise concerns about fresh HK$27 billion funding for tech hub

Hong Kong lawmakers have raised concerns about the hefty cost of developing a flagship tech hub and a neighbouring wetland park near the city’s border with mainland China, as the government seeks to secure a fresh HK$27 billion for the second round of works.

During a Legislative Council development panel meeting on Tuesday, government officials explained the HK$27.2 billion proposal, which covered forming 175 hectares (432 acres) of land at the San Tin Technopole, establishing more than one-third of the 348-hectare Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park and building an effluent polishing plant.

The funding request comes less than two years after the legislature’s finance committee approved HK$27.3 billion in December 2024 to commence the first stage of works at the 540-hectare technopole and design the first phase of the wetland park.

With the government grappling with a fiscal deficit, several panel members flagged concerns over potential cost overruns and pressed officials on strategies to accelerate revenue recovery.

“Regarding the massive development project at the Northern Metropolis, does the government have any new measures to strengthen supervision?” lawmaker Lam Chun-sing asked.

Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling said that the works would take around six years to complete, but the government would release sites in phases to speed up cash recovery.

“Under this funding application, the first batch of innovation and technology land will be ready in 2028-29. Afterwards, we will have dozens of land parcels ready annually,” she said.

“With such sites ready, we will pass them to the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau for luring investment and businesses.”

Joyce Lau Yiu-yan, project manager at the North Development Office of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD), said the government would also adopt a new contract framework for developing the technopole capping its liability for cost overruns at 5 per cent, with contractors bearing any additional excess.

Lau also said the government would manage the project digitally to accelerate works and monitor progress so problems could be resolved early.

San Tin Technopole is considered a flagship project at the 30,000-hectare Northern Metropolis close to the city’s border with the mainland, which is envisioned to become an economic powerhouse and housing hub.

As the project involves filling ponds covering about 89 hectares, the environmental authorities earlier only granted conditional approval to the technopole project. Among the requirements, the government cannot fill any ponds before construction begins on ecologically enhanced fish ponds at the Sam Po Shue Wetland Park.

The CEDD earlier told the environmental authorities that the pace of pond filling would be aligned with the progress of the construction of the wetland park.

The latest funding application includes the first round of pond-filling works, involving 79 hectares, as part of the efforts to form 175 hectares of land, including 145 hectares for innovation and technology purposes.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, lawmaker Augustine Wong Ho-ming questioned whether the government had fulfilled the environmental conditions set by the environmental authorities to press ahead with the technopole.

Permanent Secretary Ho confirmed the compliance, as ecological enhancement works had begun across four fish ponds in the park in June this year.

Lau said the four fish ponds were about 10 hectares and the government would continue the remaining enhancement works once it secured funding from the legislature.

She added that the government would also monitor the ecology in the enhanced fish ponds and use artificial intelligence to collect data for necessary additional measures.