The Legislative Council passed a bill on Thursday dedicated to accelerating Northern Metropolis development by further easing barriers on planning and land procedures.

The bill was introduced to lawmakers for its first reading in July.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said the passage of the bill – which she said is crucial to the mega project as well as the city’s future development – came ahead of the government’s initial schedule by one and a half months.

“The Northern Metropolis brings unlimited opportunities for Hong Kong, as well as many challenges," she said.

"I believe there are many possibilities that we might not be foreseeing at the moment.

"So at this stage we do not need to pursue a new legislation that encompasses everything and addresses unlimited imagined scenarios.

"But rather, we should be pragmatically realistic – so as to be enterprising and realistic.”

Linn went on to say that the government would introduce new legislation when necessary when the mega project’s construction enters different phases and amend the newly-passed bill to meet the needs of its future development.

Authorities would strive to submit the subsidiary legislation in January so as to implement facilitation measures for the project in the first quarter of next year, she added.

The legislation marks the city's first to be dedicated to a single area.





Edited by Tony Sabine