hkskyline
October 25th, 2005, 09:53 AM
HK-Shanghai road link plan revealed
Plans for a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Eastern Corridor - with direct road links to Shanghai - are under consideration, finance chief Henry Tang revealed Monday.
Carrie Chan
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/newsimage/20051025/shanghai.jpg
Plans for a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Eastern Corridor - with direct road links to Shanghai - are under consideration, finance chief Henry Tang revealed Monday.
It would link the SAR with the mainland's eastern coastal highway system through a new border control point at Liantang in Shenzhen and Heung Yuen Wai in Sha Tau Kok.
Tang unveiled the plan at a "Cross- Boundary Infrastructure and Strategic Positioning of Hong Kong" seminar held by the Central Policy Unit.
The corridor plan, still embryonic, would link Hong Kong with Huizhou in the Pearl River Delta and facilitate traffic flow north to Fujian, Zhejiang and probably Shanghai. Also at the meeting, Guangdong Development and Reform Commission deputy director Zhang Jun said Beijing will soon sanction Hengqin Island as a free trade zone.
Hengqin Island will be a the center of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and may generate revenue to offset the bridge's HK$6 billion cost.
Monday's seminar provided the first public glimpse into ambitious plans that could greatly transform economic ties between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Authorities in Guangdong and Hong Kong are engaged in "detailed discussions" on the new corridor and border control point, Tang said.
The project "will lay a strong foundation for future cross-border infrastructure development," he added.
The project was initiated by the Shenzhen municipal government, sources said, because another border crossing could help divert the flow of conta
iner trucks into the outlying areas of Shenzhen and away from the crowded city center.
Present control points at Huanggang and Lok Ma Chau send traffic directly into Shenzhen creating traffic and environmental problems for the city.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang's administration is cautious about the plan as the Hong Kong side of the border, Heung Yuen Wai, is owned by indigenous New Territories people who claim it as ancestral land. Other parts of the closed border land are environmentally sensitive wetlands, and officials anticipate land redemption disputes and environmental concerns if the border is opened to development.
Beijing's interest in the corridor triggered Tsang's mention during his policy address of future development plans to rezone 35 hectares in the border area.
Guangdong's Zhang Jun said a feasibility study on turning Hengqin Island into a free trade zone will be submitted for approval to the State Council soon in light of the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
"The 86-square-kilometer island, located south of the Zhuhai River, has about 41 square kilometers of land available for development," Zhang said.
The plan, he noted, "will follow closely directives issued by President Hu Jintao" for the cooperative development of the mainland's leading provinces and two special administration regions (Hong Kong and Macau).
"The completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will bring fundamental changes to the region, giving Hengqin Island a unique edge," Zhang said. "The new zone will be a hub for finance, tourism, recreation, industry and hi-tech development. It will be a platform for service industries and will attract external financial investment."
Hong Kong and Macau investors, including tycoon Li Ka-shing, are reportedly drooling over the ambitious plan for Hengqin, which is more than three times the size of Macau.
The US-based Las Vegas Sands announced last week plans to expand into Hengqin with an island resort.
The first of three construction phases calls for an investment of US$300 million (HK$2.34 billion) for a 5.2-square-kilometer project on the largely undeveloped island.
One Country Two Systems Research Institute executive director Shiu Shi- por has said that the Hengqin free trade zone is a viable solution to the problem of financing the mammoth bridge project.
Shiu proposed that the land proceeds from developing Hengqin Island could foot the bill for the bridge.
It is understood that the Hengqin project is also backed by the highest levels of government in Guangdong, including party chief Zhang Dejiang, a member of the Politburo.
Plans for a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Eastern Corridor - with direct road links to Shanghai - are under consideration, finance chief Henry Tang revealed Monday.
Carrie Chan
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/newsimage/20051025/shanghai.jpg
Plans for a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Eastern Corridor - with direct road links to Shanghai - are under consideration, finance chief Henry Tang revealed Monday.
It would link the SAR with the mainland's eastern coastal highway system through a new border control point at Liantang in Shenzhen and Heung Yuen Wai in Sha Tau Kok.
Tang unveiled the plan at a "Cross- Boundary Infrastructure and Strategic Positioning of Hong Kong" seminar held by the Central Policy Unit.
The corridor plan, still embryonic, would link Hong Kong with Huizhou in the Pearl River Delta and facilitate traffic flow north to Fujian, Zhejiang and probably Shanghai. Also at the meeting, Guangdong Development and Reform Commission deputy director Zhang Jun said Beijing will soon sanction Hengqin Island as a free trade zone.
Hengqin Island will be a the center of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and may generate revenue to offset the bridge's HK$6 billion cost.
Monday's seminar provided the first public glimpse into ambitious plans that could greatly transform economic ties between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Authorities in Guangdong and Hong Kong are engaged in "detailed discussions" on the new corridor and border control point, Tang said.
The project "will lay a strong foundation for future cross-border infrastructure development," he added.
The project was initiated by the Shenzhen municipal government, sources said, because another border crossing could help divert the flow of conta
iner trucks into the outlying areas of Shenzhen and away from the crowded city center.
Present control points at Huanggang and Lok Ma Chau send traffic directly into Shenzhen creating traffic and environmental problems for the city.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang's administration is cautious about the plan as the Hong Kong side of the border, Heung Yuen Wai, is owned by indigenous New Territories people who claim it as ancestral land. Other parts of the closed border land are environmentally sensitive wetlands, and officials anticipate land redemption disputes and environmental concerns if the border is opened to development.
Beijing's interest in the corridor triggered Tsang's mention during his policy address of future development plans to rezone 35 hectares in the border area.
Guangdong's Zhang Jun said a feasibility study on turning Hengqin Island into a free trade zone will be submitted for approval to the State Council soon in light of the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
"The 86-square-kilometer island, located south of the Zhuhai River, has about 41 square kilometers of land available for development," Zhang said.
The plan, he noted, "will follow closely directives issued by President Hu Jintao" for the cooperative development of the mainland's leading provinces and two special administration regions (Hong Kong and Macau).
"The completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will bring fundamental changes to the region, giving Hengqin Island a unique edge," Zhang said. "The new zone will be a hub for finance, tourism, recreation, industry and hi-tech development. It will be a platform for service industries and will attract external financial investment."
Hong Kong and Macau investors, including tycoon Li Ka-shing, are reportedly drooling over the ambitious plan for Hengqin, which is more than three times the size of Macau.
The US-based Las Vegas Sands announced last week plans to expand into Hengqin with an island resort.
The first of three construction phases calls for an investment of US$300 million (HK$2.34 billion) for a 5.2-square-kilometer project on the largely undeveloped island.
One Country Two Systems Research Institute executive director Shiu Shi- por has said that the Hengqin free trade zone is a viable solution to the problem of financing the mammoth bridge project.
Shiu proposed that the land proceeds from developing Hengqin Island could foot the bill for the bridge.
It is understood that the Hengqin project is also backed by the highest levels of government in Guangdong, including party chief Zhang Dejiang, a member of the Politburo.