Plan for Greater Bay Area to be published next month

The development plan for the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay is expected to be announced at the end of February following consultations with the region’s governments, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Hong Kong newspaper reported that Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, who is in charge of Macau and Hong Kong affairs, approved the document that is expected to be released on February 21. Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also confirmed that the plan is ready.

The document will set out in detail the role that each of the cities of the Pearl River Delta will play in this project, which aims to transform the region into a high-tech economic zone.

Under the plan to be announced Hong Kong will keep its role as financial, international trade, shipping, transport, services and high technology centre while Macau will be focused on tourism and being a platform in relations with the Portuguese-speaking countries.

Guangzhou will be the project’s main city in mainland China, which has Shenzhen as a city of technological innovation.

The Greater Bay, covering nine cities in Guangdong province and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, covers 55,500 square kilometers with a population of 67.6 million people and accounted for more than 12.5 percent of China’s Gross Domestic Product.  MDT/Macauhub