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 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.
In Focus | Hong Kong’s university town: where’s the money and what will success look like?
In order for universities to expand successfully into the Northern Metropolis, clear development parameters, timelines and financing models are needed.
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