Secretary for Education Christine Choi says the HK$10 billion in government loans set aside for Northern Metropolis campuses will not meet universities’ funding needs. She plans to ask the Financial Secretary to increase the allocation; Choi also said public spending priorities would have to be considered.
At a Legislative Council Panel on Education meeting, Choi said the university-town programme could not depend on government loans alone. The government would help institutions seek resources from the wider community, including by connecting them with investors.
Some institutions were considering issuing bonds or partnering with property developers, HK01 reported. Choi said she was open to different financing and development approaches, while stressing that institutions could not breach the principles attached to their land grants because they lacked funds.
The near-term applications are for three campus sites at Hung Shui Kiu, covering 26 hectares. That is less than a tenth of the roughly 300 hectares planned for campus areas across the university towns. Applications have been open since September, and Choi said institutions need not rush to compete for the sites.
Choi hopes to announce the institutions selected for Hung Shui Kiu in early 2027. Campus land there is expected to become available in stages during 2026, with most site formation due to be completed by the end of 2027.
At San Tin, the first building, Loop Academy One, was expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Land-formation and infrastructure work in the Ngau Tam Mei New Development Area is planned to start in the first half of 2027. The site intended for a third medical school and an integrated medical teaching, research and hospital facility is expected to be formed by the end of 2028; other campus-zone sites are due in batches after 2029.
At Ta Kwu Ling, statutory planning and related procedures for the priority development area are expected to begin in 2027. Government-led works are forecast to start in 2028/29, with campus sites becoming available progressively from 2030.