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William Yiu

Edith Lin

Hong Kong is betting big on the Northern Metropolis with a university town as a core engine. In this third of a five-part series on the city’s first five-year blueprint, we look at the talk of the town. Read part one here and part two here.
Hong Kong is a city that has among the highest concentration of top universities with at least eight making it to global and regional rankings and as excitement builds over a new economic hub, a new buzz phrase has emerged in the sector – ‘university town’.
One is set to emerge in the Northern Metropolis, spanning from Ngau Tam Mei eastward to Hung Shui Kiu and the New Territories North, covering a total area of 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) including 300 hectares of campus space.
But the experts expected to make it all happen are treading warily, asking anxious questions even as they avow commitment.
To realise this ambition of creating a hub for education, innovation, and technology, university leaders are calling for three main things: clarity on the development parameters, the timeline, and the financing model.
Most see the town as a space to potentially expand their research and development (R&D) schemes into application projects and field trials.
Beyond this consensus, they each have a wish list on what ought to be in the new town, as envisioned in the city’s inaugural five-year plan due out by the end of next month.
“We are not paying lip service. We wish to invest, alongside the government, other universities and enterprises, to build the Northern Metropolis,” said Professor Christopher Chao Yu-hang, senior vice-president for research and innovation at Polytechnic University.
“The more information we have, the better.”
Space to connect with firms and mainland enterprises
According to the initial proposal, the five-year blueprint – meant to align the city’s priorities with national development and the country’s 15th five-year plan – will have a section on the Northern Metropolis with its focus on education and technology.
While talk has focused on development of the 30,000-hectare metropolis as a whole, attention has increasingly shifted to the university component as a core engine that could materialise within the next five years.
A working group on the planning and construction of the town, led by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, went on several visits across the border and overseas to study viable models.

They visited science and technology parks in mainland China – including Zhejiang, Beijing and Hebei – and toured Korea, Germany and Switzerland from their development experiences and innovative models.
Among these locations was Daedeok Innopolis in South Korea, widely known as the “Silicon Valley of Korea”, a space spanning 70 sq km and functioning as the engine driving the country’s advanced technological and scientific developments.
It houses prestigious elite universities and over 25 major government-funded research institutes. It is also a location of choice for thousands of hi-tech venture companies, corporate research and research centres involved in sectors ranging from aerospace and biotechnology to robotics and semiconductor development.
The government later concluded it would integrate the insights gained from the field trips to develop “a modern university town that possesses distinctive Hong Kong characteristics while integrating into and serving the nation.”
Land for the university town will be formed in phases, with the first tender to be rolled out next month and the initial lot prepared by the end of this year.
Near the university town, the Hong Kong park in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone stands out as an early innovation and technology (I&T) node, with two wet laboratory buildings achieving an occupancy rate of 90 per cent in June.
Some overseas, mainland and local companies have already set foot in the area, including Shokz Global and Vobile.
Shokz is a consumer electronics brand, while Vobile provides digital content protection and transaction services. Both companies have mainland backgrounds and global footprints.
Professor Chao said while Hong Kong had an edge in research and development (R&D) with five universities in the global top 100, it previously lacked the space to turn research into prototypes and commercialise them.
To address these constraints, universities set up campuses and facilities across the border, such as PolyU’s 12 mainland translational research institutes to turn research into applications.

Chao saw the university town as an opportunity to provide land and application scenarios, as it envisioned integrating industry, academia, research and application.
“The Northern Metropolis serves as a space for application scenarios as it will accommodate not only universities but also leading enterprises which wish to expand into the mainland or the other way round,” he said.
“As the Northern Metropolis connects with Shenzhen, it can radiate academic research to the mainland.”
In a separate reply to the SCMP, PolyU said it planned to establish a second campus there to house its PhD students, top researchers, and large-scale testing facilities to enable research outcomes connected with supply chains and markets on the mainland.
Chao added that the university town could also align with the national strategy to help mainland firms go global, as Hong Kong’s R&D strength and international exposure could enhance the quality of Chinese products and better serve overseas markets.
He also said the city’s reputation for quality control and assurance could help mainland products align with international standards.
Show us the money
However, the experts say whether the vision of building a self-financed university town can be realised depends not just on a swift supply of land but whether there are attractive financial incentives.
In an interview last month, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said the government welcomed the participation of the business community in the town to diversify the funding model.
With the eight public universities holding combined reserves worth HK$151.5 billion (US$19.3 billion) as of last year, the government said it would offer only low-interest, long-repayment loans, with a HK$10 billion loan earmarked for the Hung Shui Kiu project.
To date, at least 19 tertiary institutions have expressed interest in expanding into the Northern Metropolis. However, none have had any indication on which institutions could win bids, with the sole exception of a proposed medical school to be operated by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
Chao expected the city’s five-year plan to unveil details of the earmarked educational sites, such as their sizes and construction timelines.
“The development has to be quick. If there is no progress after five years, talent will leave as Singapore and mainland China are competing for talent,” he said.

Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho, vice-president of academic and research at the self-financed Hang Seng University, said the university town could develop the education sector and diversify Hong Kong’s economic pillars.
He expected the five-year plan to outline clear investment incentives.
“Construction material and equipment cost a lot. It is impossible to rely on the government,” he said.
“Meanwhile, asking tertiary institutes to foot the entire bill is pie in the sky … The government has to initiate discussions to attract other companies and organisations to convince them to invest in the project, which can yield a stable return in the long run.”
Mok, who focuses on higher education research, said possible models included channelling the financial returns of real estate development in the area to build university facilities and cooperating with large-scale corporations to set up laboratories.
Another option would be to issue bonds, a route currently being pursued by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) despite it having the largest reserves among all public universities.
The SCMP earlier reported that HKU held a roadshow to gauge investor interest in a bond programme that could raise up to HK$3 billion to fund its planned expansion in the Northern Metropolis.
Kathy Lee, head of research and retail consultancy at real estate firm Colliers, said the government’s loan could hardly meet all institutions’ needs, suggesting that smaller ones look to mainland businesses interested in diversifying their investments for support.
“While it’s relatively easier for traditional universities to fill capital gaps and look for collaborators, small-scale institutions may have to work with reputable partners to increase their recognition on the mainland. It can be a win-win situation,” she said.
She added that they could also borrow money from banks, which generally have more confidence in the education industry’s financial performance.
From invention to industrialisation
Despite uncertainty over financial arrangements, Lee noted that the university town remained attractive, as leasing or purchasing office and retail premises in urban areas could not cater to research universities, which would require laboratories and other supporting facilities.
Interest is spreading beyond Hong Kong. A Peking University official told Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu last December that they intended to set up a research institute in the town.
Lee from Colliers stressed that information transparency was critical for attracting universities and investors, especially non-local institutions that required longer preparation cycles.
“Overseas universities are affected by local policies of cutting non-local student quotas, and they wish to expand their markets. If they eye the Asian market, they either go to Hong Kong or Singapore.
“We should not only focus on attracting local universities but also reputable mainland and overseas universities to diversify the industry and build an international education hub.”
At the same time, some universities are seeking stronger policy support in the five-year plan, following the education minister’s call for universities to submit proposals on knowledge transfer and commercial applications.

A spokesman for HKUST suggested the government consider measures to facilitate venture capital flows and enhance cross-border investment connectivity to further strengthen the innovation ecosystem.
This way, he said, there could be better support to ensure more efficient deployment of local and mainland capital into innovation, technology commercialisation and high-growth start-ups.
Lau Chi-pang, special adviser to Lingnan University’s president on publicity and chairman of the Legislative Council’s panel on education, called for a fundamental shift in how the self-financing town operates to ensure long-term sustainability and quick results.
“The town should not be a traditional campus for institutions to accommodate more academic buildings and admit more students. We must undergo a paradigm shift,” Lau said.
“The universities in the town should focus on industrialising their research and development outcomes by collaborating with others. The resources generated by their inventions and research could act as capital to support the development of their universities in the town reciprocally.”
Under his proposed model, momentum would be created by a self-sustaining cycle of inventions and commercialised research funding ongoing operations.
Lau noted that while future academic staff would still teach, they must also engage with commercial enterprises to turn innovations into market-ready, world-class products.
“The whole model not only helps scholars fulfil the requirements of academic research, but also generates momentum to foster the development of industries,” Lau added.
Amid calls for integrating research and industry, some university representatives stressed that upstream foundational technology should not be neglected.
“Hong Kong should not only focus on solving challenges faced by the industries, but also look into future industries that can lead the world,” PolyU’s Chao said.
“We should also encourage front-tier research as it can make a global impact and attract followers to our research. That is how Hong Kong can become a global hub for talent and education.”


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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Professor Christopher Chao, senior vice-president for research and innovation at Polytechnic University, says the Northern Metropolis presents an opportunity to integrate industry, academia, research and application. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Electronics brand Shokz has already established a presence in the Northern Metropolis. Photo: Wency Chen

Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho, vice-president of academic and research at Hang Seng University, a private institution, urges the government to mobilise corporate investors. Photo: Edmond So

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The university town will span from Ngau Tam Mei (pictured), extending eastward to Hung Shui Kiu and the New Territories North, covering a total area of 1,000 hectares, including 300 hectares of campus space. Photo: Dickson Lee

Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki (third from right) leads a working group on the planning and construction of the university town on a visit to Zhejiang in March. He is joined by education chief Choi Yuk-lin (fourth from right). Photo: Handout 

CUHK chief calls for more funds for campuses in Northern Metropolis university town

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In order for universities to expand successfully into the Northern Metropolis, clear development parameters, timelines and financing models are needed


In order for universities to expand successfully into the Northern Metropolis, clear development parameters, timelines and financing models are needed.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In order for universities to expand successfully into the Northern Metropolis, clear development parameters, timelines and financing models are needed

In order for universities to expand successfully into the Northern Metropolis, clear development parameters, timelines and financing models are needed