Dedicated laws designed to fast-track Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis project will not override the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, the authorities have said. The remarks on Monday followed a meeting of the government-appointed Advisory Council on the Environment, where the main agenda was streamlining procedures and requirements for construction noise permits within the development near the…
Travelling from Hong Kong’s commercial heart to the site of the San Tin Technopole, a planned innovation hub under the Northern Metropolis megaproject, is an exercise in endurance. The roughly two-hour trek from Causeway Bay requires taking trains on two lines, navigating two transit interchanges and catching a ride on a public minibus. Upon arrival,…
Hong Kong’s legislature will retain the power to scrutinise boundary changes for the Northern Metropolis megaproject proposed by the executive branch, the city’s development chief has said, addressing concerns over proposed laws to fast-track the scheme. Under proposed legislation comprising six main subsidiary laws designed to remove bottlenecks in the massive scheme near the border…
Proposed designated laws to streamline land-use approval procedures for the Northern Metropolis megaproject will not undermine the authority of Hong Kong’s town planning body, some experts have argued while urging the government to establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to strengthen market confidence. Observers were responding to a package of six subsidiary laws unveiled on…
Hong Kong authorities have proposed designated laws to streamline procedures for changing land use in the Northern Metropolis megaproject, cutting the process from typically nine months to just two. Unveiled by the Development Bureau on Tuesday, the proposed designated legislation comprises six main subsidiary laws designed to remove bottlenecks in the massive scheme near the…
Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis near the border with mainland China will adopt laws to streamline land approval procedures from nine to two months in a move to speed up its development, the South China Morning Post has learned. Sources told the SCMP that details of the dedicated legislation for the Northern Metropolis would be announced…
Disabled residents and a former lawmaker have slammed Hong Kong’s town planning authorities for failing to consider accessibility needs and overlooking potential fire safety risks in an approved development plan for Wan Chai, calling for a review to make the area more barrier-free. Former social welfare sector lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said on Thursday that the…
The Northern Metropolis is in the news almost every day. The big policy focus for the administration, it is determining a new future for Hong Kong. Part of the New Territories, which were dubbed “a land between” in the 1980s, the area was once little more than a rural leftover between urban Hong Kong and…
The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors has called on the government to introduce dedicated legislation and a new statutory body to fast-track the buy-back of Wang Fuk Court flats after the deadly fire, clearing the way for residents’ resettlement. Former president of the institute Chiu Kam-kuen, now chairman of its Housing Policy Panel, estimated that…
Hong Kong Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho attends press conference at the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong on Sept 19, 2025. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY) Hastening urban renewal is a major focus of land development initiatives in this year’s Policy Address, as it is moving relatively slowly in Hong Kong due to…