The Government promulgated the Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone today.

The Innovation, Technology & Industry Bureau explained that the development outline comprehensively and systematically outlines the vision and mission of the development of the Hong Kong Park in the Loop.

It also outlines the historical background and basis of the loop development, major development directions, strategy and target of the park, and the facilitation measures to promote the flow of cross-boundary elements between the Hong Kong Park and the Shenzhen Park, with a view to setting out a clear development plan for the Hong Kong Park.

The bureau pointed out that the Chief Executive announced in this year's Policy Address that the Government has set up the Steering Committee on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park in the Loop, chaired by the Chief Executive himself, to lead the Government to formulate the overall strategy, planning and layout for the development of the Hong Kong Park, and to publish the development outline within this year.

The development outline will set out the innovative policies facilitating the flow of personnel, materials, capital and data between the Hong Kong Park and the Shenzhen Park in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, making it a crucial source of new quality productive forces for the country.

The country promulgated the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone in August last year, setting out three major development positionings of the Hetao Co-operation Zone, the bureau noted.

On the basis of these three major positionings, as well as the vision and mission of the development of the Hong Kong Park, the development outline proposes to take forward at full steam the development of the Hong Kong Park in accordance with four major directions.

Such directions include building a world-class industry-academia-research platform, establishing an internationally competitive research and development transformation and pilot production base for industries, fostering a hub for pooling global innovation and technology resources, and cultivating a testing ground for institutional and policy innovation.

At the same time, the bureau pointed out, the development outline puts forward clear development targets for the park with two important five-year milestones to drive the development of the Hong Kong Park in the Loop.

Chief Executive John Lee emphasised that the Hetao Co-operation Zone, consisting of the Hong Kong Park and the Shenzhen Park, is one of the major co-operation platforms among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau under the National 14th Five-Year Plan.

“To better implement the country's major strategic development of the Hetao Co-operation Zone, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government formulated the development outline, setting out the important development directions, strategy and target of the Hong Kong Park in the Loop and leading the high-quality development of the Hong Kong Park in the Loop through top-level design.”

Mr Lee added that the Hong Kong SAR Government will follow the development strategy proposed in the development outline, and capitalise on the strengths of “one country, two systems” and the geographic advantages of “one river, two banks”.

He explained that the purpose behind the strategy is to promote the development of the Hong Kong Park at full steam, and join hands with Shenzhen to develop the Hetao Co-operation Zone into a world-class key innovation and technology platform and an important engine for the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Click here for more on the development outline.