Opinion: Think tank calls for inno-tech hub at HZMB port

A leading local think tank on Wednesday suggested the government build an Asia-Pacific exchange center for innovation and technology at the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, to exploit the location advantages of the port.

The One Country Two Systems Research Institute made such suggestion in its new report on a "bridgehead economy" at where HZMB's Hong Kong Port is located - the new town area on Lantau Island. Bridgehead economy refers to a type of transit-oriented development model.

According to the country's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area blueprint, Hong Kong should aim to become an international hub for innovation and technology.

However, the city lacks a comprehensive inno-tech center for international exchange activities, the report noted.

Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport are limited in land area for new development projects, while the planned Lok Ma Chau Loop innovation park striding Shenzhen and Hong Kong is more focused on regional inno-tech cooperation, the report said.

The Hong Kong Port, with a land area of about 130 hectares, is a transit hub close to the HZMB, Hong Kong International Airport, and the SkyPier, and could quickly reach the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminal via Airport Express. It is also close to the AsiaWorld-Expo, which each year hosts tens of thousands of international exhibitors demonstrating their products, the report said.

With the HZMB, the port serves as Hong Kong's "two-way gateway" to both Chinese mainland and international visitors, it added.

That means the Hong Kong Port is perfectly located with available land to develop into an exchange center for innovation and technology, explained Joe Fang Zhou, research director of the institute.

Currently, there are only boundary-crossing facilities in the port area, with land available for more buildings, Fang explained.

The HZMB is a strategic sea passage across the Pearl River Estuary, which divides the Bay Area into two shores.

The "bridgehead economy" has proved to be a successful mode for economic development by international practices, the report argued, citing the Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden which helped concentrate the sci-tech resources of both countries. It stimulated bridgehead areas from both countries to develop into today's scientific research center in Northern Europe.

Meanwhile, backed by the exhibition resources of the AsiaWorld-Expo, the proposed exchange center at the Hong Kong Port can attract inno-tech companies from home and abroad to demonstrate their new products and hold exchange activities, the report said.

It may facilitate more intellectual property transactions on advanced technologies among enterprises in Hong Kong, the mainland and overseas, it said.

This can boost business demand in various professional service sectors in Hong Kong - such as intellectual property, finance and arbitration, the report said.

As China accelerates its development on artificial intelligence, the report also suggested a national-level AI innovation platform at the "bridgehead" area to promote the development of the Bay Area.