Conversation with the deceased David Akers JonesAs prime minister before 1997, he has highlighted how much government economic policymaking has changed since the old days when it was market-driven and freewheeling.
The time was around 2016. As he mused about Hong Kong’s growth potential and looked out over the city’s western islands from his West Kowloon apartment, Akers-Jones joked that the next chief executive would often have to cut the ribbon at the opening ceremonies of major infrastructure projects, and that if Hong Kong ever needed more land, there would be plenty of islands to develop. Akers-Jones spoke from experience: When British authorities needed to intervene in the market to spur growth, infrastructure-led development worked.
In the early 1990s, the Hong Kong government embarked on the Airport Core Programme (also known as the Rose Garden Project), a new airport with rail and road links. Initially budgeted at HK$200 billion (US$256.2 million), it ultimately cost HK$160 billion. This project and other capacity-building projects stimulated demand. These investments, combined with the steady growth of the Chinese economy, led to a long period of prosperity.
But times have changed. Inflation, development criticism, and Not in my backyard This mindset makes infrastructure projects incredibly expensive, causes delays, and leads to projects taking longer than expected to complete. Typical examples include: T4 Main Road The Sha Tin project was approved by lawmakers in May after the government agreed to cut costs by 5 percent.
This short 2.3km highway is intended to improve traffic flow from Sha Tin to Tsuen Wan. Some councillors were surprised at the high cost of HK$6.8 billion for such a short road. The Sha Tin District Council had been discussing the project since 2005. In response to requests from residents to improve road links with Sha Tin town centre, and to build underpasses and viaducts to reduce noise pollution, the costs kept rising. Repeated consultations and changes to the project design caused the costs to soar.
Hong Kong has developed Wealth gap infrastructure projects have deteriorated Judicial Review The application was made on environmental grounds and to protest against development.
Residents of the Northeast New Territories marched in Wan Chai on September 21, 2014, to protest against the government’s demands for funding for development projects. Photo: KY Chen
of Northeast New Territories Development Project Protests erupted in the Legislative Council when the Finance Committee was discussing funding requests for civil engineering works in Fanling and Goutong in 2014. The initial phase of the project, with an estimated cost of about HK$18 billion, was not approved until 2019.
Many government officials believe that capacity building and large-scale infrastructure projects will drive growth. But because of their high costs and long duration, the positive benefits of such projects are by no means certain. Moreover, mainland China’s Rapid developmentand post-COVID-19 lifestyles and work patterns are changing the services required in Hong Kong.
sightseeing is a good example: Hong Kong can no longer expect to easily profit from eager mainland Chinese tourists buying everything from everyday items to flashy designer goods.
The government recognized the need to adopt a new economic model and shifted from minimal intervention to actively developing new clusters of technology-based industries, including: Quantum Computing, Microelectronics, artificial intelligence and Health SciencesThe government also realised that to be successful in its technology ambitions, it would need to bring in the necessary funding, manpower and equipment.
The signing ceremony for a strategic partnership between the Hong Kong Investment Corporation and artificial intelligence company SmartMore was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in West Kowloon on June 12, with CEO John Lee Kar-chew delivering a video message. Photo: Sun Yong
The government has high hopes for innovation and technology parks. Sanda Technopole and Lok Ma Chau Loop They are expected to be cradles for nurturing the technology industry. Due to high costs, construction on both technology parks will not begin until the end of this year at the earliest.
In the case of Sanda Technopole, the largest tech park to be built in Hong Kong, Wetlands Concerns The destruction prompts an application for judicial review.
For beleaguered Hong Kong to emerge from its current mountain of challenges, it must abandon its old development template, fraught with uncertainty due to high costs, long delays and legal entanglements.
Shanghai must come up with a new development model that will allow it to grow fast enough to keep up with mainland China. Technology is advancing rapidly, and speed is of the essence.
A new development model should enable Hong Kong to take advantage of resources available elsewhere much faster and at much lower cost. Yuegang Development Zone Land, human resources, technical know-how, etc.
The government will use these resources to Improving care for the elderlyChina needs to make better use of the mainland’s abundant resources and be more ingenious in creating win-win solutions.
The old Hong Kong, which relied on real estate and mass tourism to generate huge demand, is no longer viable. Financial services remain a key pillar, but sustained growth will require diversification into new growth areas and new channels of capital formation.
More than 20 years have passed since then-CEO Tung Chee-hwa With the introduction of the Cyberport scheme, the government is finally taking control of tech development, but a smarter and faster strategy is still needed if it wants to seize the opportunity.
Regina Yip Lau Sok-Yee is the Chairperson of the Executive Council and a member and chairperson of the New People’s Party.
