Northern Metropolis will be "profitable”, says Carrie Lam

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the Northern Metropolis plan will be a “profitable business” for the city, adding that the SAR may raise external funds for the infrastructures.

The Hong Kong leader attended a phone-in radio show and a Legco Q&A session on Thursday where she was asked about the cost of the project, which would create an additional 600 hectares of land for development.

The price tag of Lam’s plan to develop the northern New Territories into a metropolitan area has yet to be calculated, but she said she is confident it won't become a burden on the public coffers, and would instead bring wealth to Hong Kong.

“When you look back on history, developing land is always profitable,” said Lam. “The Northern Metropolis will enable the SAR to develop land with less development potential, bring wealth to Hong Kong through land sales, property sales and job opportunities.”

The city’s leader also said issuing bonds will help solve cash flow problems if the government does not have enough capital to fund the project.

“For every mega-scale project, there will be a problem of cash flow... so for the initial stages, the best way to go is to raise funds, from locally, from the mainland, and from the international community," Lam said during a Legco question session.

She also added that the fund-raising, especially through green bonds, will have another benefit of growing the bond market.

"Of course we will carry out construction in a carbon-free way. These projects will fulfill the requirements of green bonds."

When asked why didn’t she propose the development plan at the beginning of her term, she said she would have been “badly battered” if she pushed forward the plan three years ago.

"In the past, the Legislative Council had great power. The council passed bills, amended laws and approved funding requests. I'll give you an example. We encountered a lot of difficulties when we introduced the co-location arrangement at the express rail station. It almost led to social unrest.

"But recently, Legco quietly approved a co-location arrangement at Huanggang port. It’s obviously different. As Hong Kong’s situation is so good, I should make the most of the momentum,” she added.