The Northern Metropolis is being developed as a new economic engine for Hong Kong, with innovation and technology at the centre of its plans.
It could become a major new base for Hong Kong’s universities, with plans to bring together campuses, research facilities and private-sector partners as part of the city’s wider innovation ambitions.
The plans now form part of Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development covering 2026 to 2030. The plan sets out the development of university towns alongside innovation, industry and residential infrastructure.
Hong Kong chief executive John Lee described the plan as an “action agenda” for Hong Kong to capitalise on national and international opportunities, saying it would set the city’s direction of development over the next five years.
Speaking to The PIE News on the sidelines of this year’s European Association of International Education (EAIE) conference, James Tang, secretary general of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee said the development would provide universities with much-needed additional space in one of the world’s most highly urbanised cities.
“What we wanted to do is to invite the universities to work with partners nationally, as well as internationally, to offer all sorts of joint programs, work together, and also set up research facilities there,” said Tang.
“It would be not just an expansion of the campuses,” he said. “They would become more dynamic, they would be working with different stakeholders together, and also linking up academia and our research activities with the private sector.”
What we wanted to do is to invite the universities to work with partners nationally, as well as internationally, to offer all sorts of joint programs, work together, and also set up research facilities there
James Tang, Hong Kong University Grants Commission
The plan specifically sets out the development of three university towns – in San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu and Ta Kwu Ling – under a model bringing together education, technology, industry, talent and urban development.
San Tin University Town is intended to focus on medicine, life and health technology, AI, robotics, microelectronics and emerging industries, while Hung Shui Kiu will focus on smart manufacturing and internationalised talent. Ta Kwu Ling is planned to incorporate arts and blue-green development.
The government expects the wider Northern Metropolis eventually to accommodate around 2.5 million residents and provide approximately 650,000 jobs.
Its location on the border with mainland China also gives the development a significant regional dimension. Close to Shenzhen and connected to the wider Greater Bay Area through seven land-based boundary control points, the Northern Metropolis is intended to support greater cross-border cooperation in innovation and technology.
The five-year plan also places the Northern Metropolis within a broader push to strengthen Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology centre and to develop the city as an international hub for high-calibre talent.
It calls for closer integration between education, technology and talent development, alongside efforts to establish a stronger “Study in Hong Kong” brand.
The development comes as Hong Kong continues to expand its international higher education capacity and strengthen the sector’s role in the city’s economic development.
With international students already making up around a quarter of university enrolments, policymakers are looking to increase overseas recruitment while creating more capacity and deeper international partnerships.
