As a key engine for Hong Kong’s future economic development, the Northern Metropolis (NM) not only represents a substantial source of economic value and development potential, but is capable of creating many jobs and boosting productivity, while providing a green and liveable living environment for members of the public. To attract enterprises and investment and facilitate public understanding of and support for the NM development, the Government has successively established exhibition centres at four New Development Areas (NDAs) in the NM, namely Kwu Tung North (KTN), Fanling North (FLN), Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen (HSK/HT) and the Loop, with a view to enabling members of the public to conduct on-site visits and enhancing their understanding of the NM’s development potential. This time, I have invited colleagues from the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) to introduce to us the characteristics of these exhibition centres.

Establishing NM “satellite” exhibition centres to showcase the NM development in a diversified manner

With a total area of approximately 300 square kilometres, the NM encompasses the developed new towns and NDAs in Yuen Long District and North District, supporting the industry pattern of “South-North dual engine (finance - Innovation and Technology (I&T))”. The establishment of exhibition centres related to the NM would help achieve two major objectives. First, it aims to facilitate community understanding of and support for developing the NM as Hong Kong’s strategic growth area. Second, it seeks to attract enterprises and investment by focusing on showcasing the potential of the NM, thereby encouraging enterprises to participate in construction, attracting enterprises to establish footholds and fostering industry clustering. In recent years, the Government has set up a dedicated NM exhibition zone at the City Gallery in Central to enhance public understanding. However, our experience shows that enterprises interested in exploring participation in the development of the NM often wish to gain close-up understanding of its latest progress and conduct on-site visits. As such, “satellite” exhibition centres have also been established in some NDAs of the NM in recent years, concurrently showcasing the characteristics of these NDAs and presenting in full view the development blueprint for the NM.

Major content update of new HSK/HT NDA Community Liaison Centre (CLC) upon expansion

As introduced by Engineer of the West Development Office (WDO) under the CEDD, Ms Ice CHONG, the HSK/HT NDA CLC, which was built using the modular integrated construction (MiC) approach, has just been officially opened after completing the relocation and expansion works this month. Ms CHONG says that the exhibition gallery therein displays information about the overall planning and development of the HSK/HT NDA and the NM under the theme of “To Gather, To Glow”. With an immersive digital experience zone and a sand table vividly illustrating the blueprint for the NDA, the exhibition gallery introduces the smart green transport network and profound historical and cultural resources in the area as well as “nature-based solutions” integrating development with ecological conservation. Given the positioning of the HSK/HT NDA as High-end Professional Services and Logistics Hub, visitors can gain a deeper understanding of the NDA’s development direction through the diversified and interactive exhibits.

Latest I&T achievements showcased in the Loop CLC

The Loop will be developed into a world-class I&T hub which connects the Mainland with the international community. As introduced by Engineer of the WDO under the CEDD, Winson LUI, the CLC in the Loop, which has been named the Innohub, commenced operation in 2024. Comprising a total of three floors, the Innohub comprehensively presents, through interactive experiences, the latest achievements of the Loop in different aspects such as I&T and ecological conservation. The CLC has thus far received more than 120 visiting groups with the total attendance of more than 5 000, of which business and corporate groups account for 80%. The exhibition gallery therein features a wealth of exhibits and advanced interactive facilities, providing an all-round introduction of the planning for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, as well as the progress of relevant infrastructure projects. In the nature conservation exhibition zone therein, visitors can, through bird models and the ecological display projection wall, learn about the habitats and features of various species and acquire knowledge about ecological conservation work.

Mr LUI says that the exhibition content of the Innohub would be expanded in the future to cover the development of the adjacent San Tin Technopole, Ma Tso Lung and even the entire NM.

Extensive range of exhibits in FLN CLC

As introduced by Engineer of the North Development Office (NDO) under the CEDD, Mr Keith CHENG, the FLN CLC, opened in 2023, has held more than 150 community events so far to proactively connect with local residents, schools and community organisations in joint efforts to take forward community development while enhancing public understanding of the NM.

The exhibition therein is divided into seven major sections under the theme of “Being and Becoming”, displaying the past and present development of Fanling. The most popular exhibit among students is the driving simulation game which allows gamers to experience barrelling along the Fanling Bypass (Eastern Section) via multiple screens while learning about the development of relevant infrastructure. In addition, visitors can grasp the full picture of the NDA and even the entire NM development from different angles through holographic projects with a three-dimensional model. The CLC also documents the life stories of residents in North District. Through interviews of residents of different ages in North District, the stories evolving around the district’s now and then has translated the infrastructure blueprint into life vision for the future NM.

Gradual maturation of the KTN NDA development

As introduced by Engineer of the NDO under the CEDD, Ms Winnie CHAN, KTN is the first NDA in NM to enter the construction phase; the existing smaller-scale CLC is primarily aimed at disseminating information with no space for exhibition. As such, it is planned to set up a larger and multi-purpose core exhibition gallery for the NM in KTN NDA. This new exhibition gallery will be located in close proximity to the Kwu Tung Station on the East Rail Line scheduled for commissioning in 2027. With convenient transport access, it will also be situated near the Long Valley Nature Park, enabling visitors to tour the park en route to the exhibition gallery and appreciate the vision and achievements of “co-existence of development and conservation” in the NM.

Ms Winnie CHAN says that the core exhibition gallery for the NM will adopt more I&T to create a panoramic interactive platform. Through multimedia presentations and multi-perspective displays, the exhibition gallery will highlight the NM as Hong Kong’s new engine for future development. The first phase is targeted for commissioning in 2027.

HSK/HT NDA CLC and FLN CLC are open to the public free of charge. Please visit the following websites for further details:

HSK/HT NDA CLC: https://hskhtnda.hk/en/community-connection/

FLN CLC: https://ktnfln-nda.hk/eng/community_fl

Organisations and groups interested in learning more about the Innohub and the development of KTN are also welcome to make a reservation for a visit by telephone:

Contact telephone number of the Innohub: 5486 5831

Contact telephone number of the KTN Office: 3686 1264

Besides physical exhibition galleries, we will launch an online exhibition gallery on the NM’s dedicated website (https://www.nm.gov.hk/en) later this year to introduce the NM through multimedia to people from around the world.