Macau NPC Representative proposes alliances for GBA

To expedite regional cooperation between cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), certain alliances can be considered, Macau’s representative at the National People’s Congress (NPC), Lao Ngai Leong, has said.

This is among four proposals he has made to accelerate the development of the world’s largest bay area.

He said his proposals were derived from experiences from the New York Bay area. His first proposal is the establishment of governmental or non-governmental entities to better progress the GBA’s development. Such entities can be harbor or airport alliances, which will help coordinate the positioning of similar infrastructure, according to Lao.

Interconnectivity between infrastructure in the GBA, such as harbors, piers and highways, should also be accelerated to transform the GBA into the center for cargo and capital dissemination as well as market expansion.

The GBA should also have a centralized administrative body to coordinate each government in the GBA. This, however, should not exclude the direct administration of the Central People’s Government as well as the cooperation mechanism for the governments of Macau, Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Lao also suggested civil organizations and associations do more for the supply and demand of public goods. He cited the New York Bay area’s aim as boosting social vitality to argue that the provision of certain public services should be extended to civil organizations to highlight their social governance role. For example, he said, non-governmental advisory committees and research institutions can be established. AL