Price of development: urban-rural integration vision falters
by ecological and human concerns
Joseph Lee, a psychological counsellor, has lived in Ngau Tam Mei Village for nearly forty years. After finishing work at 3 pm, he takes the MTR back to Yuen Long town centre, has afternoon tea, buys daily necessities, and then goes back home by half-an-hour’s minibus.
In the evening, the village is covered in a light mountain mist, and a few dog barks can be heard from time to time. Along the way, Lee keeps greeting villagers he knows. It seems that everyone in the whole village knows each other, like a big family that will never break apart.
“Look, that is Kai Kung Leng. We live right at its foot. A friend of mine who lives elsewhere told me it looks like Mount Fuji. But I think Kai Kung Leng is more beautiful than that,” Lee said, pointing at the line of hills not far behind the village.
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Joseph Lee often goes hiking on Kai Kung Leng.
Satellite images show that the greenery on Kai Kung Leng has increased over the last decade.
In 2024, government planning for the development of Ngau Tam Mei encompasses 127 hectares, a figure that sits alongside separate land requirements for the Northern Link. According to the Highways Department, August is the final land resumption deadline of the railway area.
“The saddest part of this development is the destruction of a place to build something the government deems ‘better’. They relocate people to these supposedly improved areas, but to us, it feels more like being caged,” he added.
Ngau Tam Mei Station is one of the stops on the Northern Link, and construction began last year. To support the railway, the village land is resumed for planning University Town, hospital, and residential separately to boost the local economy, as part of the Northern Metropolis project that covers one-third of Hong Kong’s land area.
The Northern Metropolis covers around 30,000 hectares of land. Source: government
What is the Northern Metropolis? The Northern Metropolis encompasses the Yuen Long and North Districts and is designed to serve as a second economic engine for the city. While the south remains a global financial centre, the north is intended to become an international innovation and technology hub, creating a "South-North dual engine" that strengthens Hong Kong’s integration with the Greater Bay Area. The development is organised into four major zones with distinct economic and environmental roles. The western portion acts as a hub for high-end professional services and logistics, while the San Tin Technopole serves as the central innovation and technology heart. A dedicated boundary zone focused on commerce and industry leverages proximity to Shenzhen, while the eastern side is preserved as a "blue and green" circle for recreation, tourism, and conservation. By following an industry-driven and infrastructure-led approach, the government aims to house roughly 2.5 million residents and provide 650,000 jobs within the metropolis. A core principle of the project is the co-existence of development and conservation, aiming for a "wetland city" landscape where urban growth and ecological preservation work together. The government has also introduced large-scale land disposal and new transport links, such as the Northern Link, to accelerate this transformation.
In its 2023 Action Agenda, urban-rural integration, a model aiming to close the gap between cities and the countryside through shared resources, is listed at the highway of targets.
However, the government’s vision cannot hide the price paid by local villagers and the environment. The land resumption process has caused constant conflict over nature conservation and community care. And questions remain about who actually benefits from this development, and whether this model truly has a sustainable future.
Chan Kim-ching, a researcher who has followed local land development issues for more than ten years, said that taking large amounts of rural farmland will hurt agriculture across Hong Kong.
“Most of the Northern Metropolis is made up of farmland. There are 200 hectares of active farmland here. For context, Victoria Park is about 20 hectares, so this is the size of 10 Victoria Parks,” he said.
Out of the total 110.4 thousand hectares of the city, only 7 square kilometres (700 hectares) are in active farm use, according to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
And there are 1,119 hectares of active fish ponds, all of which are located in the New Territories, as AFCD founded.
“The San Tin Technopole will wipe out 300 hectares of fish ponds. We used to believe these wetlands had the highest ecological value in Hong Kong. But now, they are being cleared on a massive scale,” he added.
“We must acknowledge that the Northern Metropolis plan has failed to deliver the principle of urban-rural integration. Regarding the government’s land resumption, it is hard to call this ‘integration’. Instead, it is a clear case of ‘greenwashing’,” Chan said.
Felix Leung Pui-kin, climate change fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, observed the loss of farmland from an ecological perspective.
“Ecologically, fishponds act as a sponge. During heavy rain, they store water, and during dry spells, this water flows out to nourish surrounding farmland. But once these areas are urbanised and covered in concrete, these essential ecological and environmental functions disappear,” he said.
Felix Leung Pui-kin engages in rural conservation researches focusing on the Northern Metropolis.
In a study of wetland compensation by the Environmental Protection Department, the government should always avoid or minimise any damage to wetlands before suggesting compensation. If damage is unavoidable, an on-site compensation will be arranged so that local species can easily migrate to the new area.
The study further mentions that compensation should be “like for like,” meaning the new wetland needs to have the same size, species, or ecological functions as the one that was lost. But Leung challenged this plan.
“Under this scheme, the wetland is scattered, which means the animal habitat is fragmented. It leads to decreased biodiversity in future. Current government measures only compensate fish farmers for their financial loss, but they fail to compensate for the damage to the ecosystem itself,” he said.
During the proposal stage of the Northern Link project, the government asked the Advisory Council on the Environment, a panel of experts and academics working for the authority, to deliver an Environmental Impact Assessment report, to the ecological value and functions of the land within the planning area.
Based on this, the Director of the EPD decided whether to grant an Environmental Permit to proceed with the project under the EIA Ordinance.
“Although the EIA report is open for public inspection, its research and assessment methods are not transparent. Furthermore, the committee that approves the report includes property developers, which means ecological values are usually overlooked in favour of development by them,” Leung added.
For the residents of Ngau Tam Mei Village, the government‘s rehousing plans are also lacking in transparency.
“The government provides handbooks for reference, but it is difficult for ordinary people to fully understand the technical details, which is the main problem. If they cannot interpret the policies, you don’t know how to fight for your best interests,” Lee said.
Joseph Lee hopes that the governmnet can put more human care in land resumption.
The Secretary for Development responded to this issue in 2023, promising that the government would maintain close contact with affected individuals and address their needs through community liaison teams and home visits.
“Within the Ngau Tam Mei Development Area, a community liaison team helps residents and farmers understand the rehousing and compensation schemes. However, there is no such a team for the area covered by the Northern Link project. I don’t understand why there is such a complex and strange situation within the same village,” Lee added.
This spring, CUHK opens a two-months programme focusing on Urban–Rural Integration and Sustainability. The course invites guest lectures from various sectors, including government representatives, academics and corporate developers.
On the evening of April 15, Michael Fong Hok-shing, the Director of Civil Engineering and Development, gave his sharing session on urban-rual integration and nature-based solutions over the planning of Northern Metropolis.
“In our approach to rural development, we strive to preserve the local landscape and character while positioning the countryside as the city’s green backyard. By co-creating with villagers, we aim to strengthen their pride and sense of belonging to the community,” he said.
Construction of the Northern Link Main Line began in 2023, while its Eastern Extension is still in the planning stage. The extension will be approximately 9.5 km long, stretching eastwards from Kwu Tung Station to Ping Che.
Derek Chun Wai-sun, a Ping Che resident of thirty years, doesn’t believe the Northern Link will make travel more convenient.
“Ping Che is next to the Liantang Control Point. Every day at noon, buses to the border are so crowded that people cannot board, as many elderly residents use their travel discounts to go grocery shopping in Shenzhen,” he said.
“As the Northern Metropolis develops with a rising population and residential demand, local infrastructure and transport will soon be overwhelmed, creating a negative impact on us local people,” he added.
Derek Chun Wai-sun recalls his experience of traffic jam in Ping Che.
Connected by the Northern Link project, Yuen Long and the North District have a combined population of 980,000. Currently, the main road linking these two areas is the 51-km-long Castle Peak Road.
“The Northern Link Main Line won’t be finished until 2034, let alone the Eastern Extension. This is nothing more than a grand vision from the government,” Chun added.
“I believe these visions aren’t for our generation to enjoy. We won’t be the ones to benefit from the promised transport links and development. As for the government’s ‘vision’, I only want to say ‘thank you very much’,” Lee said.
“The hard truth is that we know what happens. The poor are usually forced out, and only the wealthy or the middle class move in. The vision only becomes a reality once the area has been transformed for these new residents,” he added.
Photo Gallery of Ngau Tam Mei
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