A lawmaker on Wednesday welcomed the government's financial backing for universities to set up satellite campuses in the Northern Metropolis, but said institutions still need to have long-term funding plans once they get off the ground.

Under the city's Five-Year Plan, three university towns totalling more than 1,000 hectares are to be developed in the Northern Metropolis.

Chief Executive John Lee has pledged land premium concessions and loans, while the institutions involved will "mobilise their reserves and/or employ flexible funding modes" such as issuing bonds to bring in market and social capital.

Legislator Lau Chi-pang, also a university professor, said the move will compel institutions to find ways to finance the university towns.

"The financial support will basically be sort of seed money for universities to give a start to the project. I guess universities and the government will have to put their hands together to look for money because we are talking about huge space in the Northern Metropolis," he said.

"It will be a very extended period of development, so it costs quite a lot of money."

The Hung Shui Kiu university town will be the pioneer among the three, with institutions scheduled to move as soon as next year. Lau said the estimate is pragmatic.

"Because the Hung Shui Kiu area is good enough to provide a space for a few universities to start their business here," he said.

"I guess this is a stage that wouldn't have any problem with budgeting or development."



Edited by Raymond Yeung