10-year plan maps HK-SZ metropolis

A 10-year development plan mapped by the Shenzhen government aims to build a Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis.

The plan has been approved by the Guangdong Provincial Government and is waiting for the go-head from the Central Government, Chinese newspapers said yesterday.

The plan also spells out the goal to build Shenzhen as an innovative special economic zone and a regional center of South China. The city also needs to lead in the cross-border cooperation between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong, the plan says.

To achieve the goal, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will improve cooperation in financial systems, high-tech and high-end services industries, border-crossing infrastructure, joint development of border areas and the fight against environment degradation.

Shenzhen will build a new checkpoint at Liantang in Luohu District, the plan says.

The daily passenger flow through Shenzhen??s checkpoints is expected to grow to more than 1 million by 2020, compared to the present 422,000, while the daily vehicle flow is expected to reach 46,000.

Last year, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang said that the long-term objective of Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation is to jointly develop a world-class metropolis comparable with Greater New York and Greater London.

Speaking at the second Hong Kong-Shenzhen Cooperation Forum in August last year, Tang said the two cities, as close partners, share the vision of moving forward through closer integration.