Hong Kong will “fast-track” an ambitious initiative along the border with Shenzhen in mainland China and establish artificial intelligence as a “core industry” to accelerate economic growth, Chief Executive John Lee said Wednesday in his annual policy address.
The address, which reaffirmed a 2% to 3% economic growth target for 2025, comes amid a broader push from Beijing to resuscitate China’s flagging economic growth and emerge from a longstanding real estate crisis. Last year, the Chinese Communist Party called on Hong Kong’s elite to boost China’s overall fortunes.
The Northern Metropolis project would create housing for around 2.5 million people and plant a new business district between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The project had been a focus of former leader Carrie Lam, announced in 2021. It’s also likely to be integrated into Beijing’s broader Greater Bay Area plan to link Hong Kong, Macau and cities around the Pearl River delta region.
RFA Cantonese reported in February that nearly a third of contracts linked to Northern Metropolis and other Hong Kong projects were going to Chinese state-owned companies.
Activists and some locals have pushed back on the project, citing concerns about impacts on the environment and the city’s finances.
Lee also said Hong Kong would earmark HK$1 billion to create a hub to research artificial intelligence — and that the government would use AI to improve its efficiency.
Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
