Five-Year Plan: Hong Kong sets binding target for 900 hectares of ‘spade-ready sites’ in Northern Metropolis by 2030

Hong Kong has set a binding target to have 900 hectares of land ready for construction in the city’s north within five years – more than seven times the existing amount – to support a development megaproject meant to deepen ties with mainland China, leader John Lee has announced in the city’s first Five-Year Plan.

The 900 “spade-ready sites” will form the foundation of the Northern Metropolis, a sprawling infrastructure project set to transform 30,000 hectares of land in mostly rural Hong Kong near the border with mainland China into a tech hub, providing more homes and deepening the city’s integration with neighbouring Shenzhen.

The metropolis has been touted as a core facet of the city’s first Five-Year Plan, which Lee has described as a strategic blueprint functioning alongside the chief executive’s annual Policy Address.

Getting a plot of land spade-ready involves completing procedures including zoning, clearance, and formation, making it ready for construction. A similar site formation target had earlier been laid out by development chief Bernadette Linn.

There are currently 120 hectares of such sites in areas that fall under the Northern Metropolis development.

Of the 22 main indicators laid out by Lee in his speech, there are no targets for investment or tenders relating to the Northern Metropolis.

See also: Northern Metropolis: Hong Kong homes flattened for HK$224 billion high-tech hub

Beijing’s top official on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, has ascribed high importance to the Northern Metropolis and urged Hong Kong’s real estate tycoons and business magnates to take part in the government’s infrastructure push.

Site clearance operations are already underway. The megaproject is set to evict thousands of residents from their rural village homes to make way for the development and has sparked concerns about vast environmental impacts.

‘Anticipatory’ housing target

Lee said in his Wednesday speech: “With the Northern Metropolis serving as the key growth engine for post‑secondary education and Innovation and Technology (I&T) development, we will promote the integrated development of education, technology, and talent.”

The “synergised development” of industrial parks, universities, and research institutions will foster an integrated innovation ecosystem, while infrastructure will expedite smart city development, he said.

See also: As a village waits to be swallowed by Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis, once-defiant residents are unsure of their fate

“Taken together, the Northern Metropolis will emerge as a well‑equipped metropolitan area ideal for living, work, and travel, further boosting Hong Kong’s overall competitiveness and momentum for sustainable development,” Lee added.

The five-year policy blueprint has also set a target of completing 70,000 residential units in the Northern Metropolis by 2030—more than six times the existing 11,000 flats. Unlike the binding site formation indicator, the housing target is labelled as “anticipatory.”

Last month, a consortium of mainland Chinese firms and a local property company was awarded a HK$1.03 billion tender for the first major land parcel to be developed as part of the Northern Metropolis project.

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James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law.

Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law.