Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, on September 16 announced the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) (2026-2030) and his fifth Policy Address, setting a strategic vision centered on accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM) and establishing an international hub for high-calibre talent. The announcement, reported via Media OutReach Newswire, signals a major push to integrate education, technology, and talent in a region that accounts for about one third of Hong Kong's total landmass and is projected to house about one third of the city's population.
"The NM will rise as an important strategic vehicle for advancing high-quality post-secondary education, integrating I&T (innovation and technology) and industry, and pooling international high-calibre talent," Mr Lee said. "It will become a major platform for Hong Kong's deepening engagement with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and integration into and serving the overall national development."
Central to this vision is the Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT), which will integrate five elements: education, technology, industry, talent, and quality living environment. Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki detailed that the NMUT will comprise three university towns—San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu, and Ta Kwu Ling—with combined campus areas covering about 300 hectares. "Together with the surrounding technology areas, industry areas and living community areas, the overall planned areas of the three university towns will exceed 1,000 hectares," Mr Chan said, adding that each town has its own strategic focus but shares the goal of expanding Hong Kong's education and research capabilities and connecting them with industry chains, supply networks, and markets locally and across the GBA.
The first building, Building 1 of the Loop Hong Kong Park, is scheduled for completion by the end of this year and will serve as the flagship project for launching the NMUT. To support this, the government will gradually increase the annual quota of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme from 400 to 550 places by the 2029/30 academic year, starting from 2027/28, and provide an additional $20 million each academic year to support knowledge transfer and accelerate the transformation of innovative outcomes.
"The Northern Metropolis University Town not only supports the expansion and enhancement of Hong Kong's post-secondary education, consolidating the city's status as an international hub for post-secondary education, but also serves as a primary platform for Hong Kong to engage deeply in the Greater Bay Area," Mr Chan said. "It also acts as a new engine to elevate Hong Kong's international connectivity and reinforce its global competitive advantages."
The First Five-Year Plan targets making available about 900 hectares of "spade-ready sites" from 2026-27 to 2030-2031, enabling over 70,000 housing units and one million square metres of economic floor space. Among the nine New Development Areas in the NM, construction has begun at four: Kwu Tung North/Fanling North, Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long South, and San Tin Technopole and the Loop. A cumulative total of about 120 hectares of spade-ready sites have been produced up to 2025-26, with no less than 200 hectares to be produced in 2026-27 and 2027-28.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan emphasized the importance of talent: "Talent is the most valuable asset of any economy. Indeed, competition among different economies is determined by the quality of the talent they have. It is critical that we have people with the qualifications, experience and expertise required to support our economic development."
The 2026 Policy Address includes initiatives to attract talent, such as relaxing requirements for extension of stay under the Top Talent Pass Scheme for technology start-up talent and expanding the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons to cover Central Asia and the Middle East, in addition to ASEAN Member States. A new visa category will also allow non-locals to participate in short-term training programmes, advancing Hong Kong's development into a regional training hub.
For the full document of Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan and related information, visit the dedicated website www.hk5yplan.gov.hk. The government's brand campaign can be found at https://www.brandhk.gov.hk/.
