{
  "id": 7068588,
  "title": "Northern Metropolis: Hong Kong homes flattened for HK$224 billion high-tech hub",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/northern-metropolis-hong-kong-homes-flattened-for-hk-224-billion-high-7068588",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T05:33:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hong Kong Free Press",
    "slug": "hong-kong-free-press-hongkongfp",
    "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/09/13/northern-metropolis-hong-kong-homes-flattened-for-hk224-billion-high-tech-hub/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Hong Kong’s northern New Territories, 71-year-old Chan Yuk-tong’s 71-year-old home will be demolished to create a high-tech hub, known as the “Northern Metropolis”. This venture, aimed at integrating the city with mainland China, is projected to cost at least HK$224 billion (US$28.6 billion). The ambitious project is expected to accommodate 2.5 million residents and generate 650,000 jobs. With an estimated 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land earmarked, at least 25 villages, including Chan’s ancestral houses, will be destroyed. Critics caution that such development could significantly disrupt local wildlife and communities. Despite opposition, the government’s national security law, imposed in 2020, has curtailed dissent. While the project promises a 13 percent contribution to Hong Kong’s GDP, it has faced criticism for its potential environmental and socio-economic impact.",
  "summary": "Chan Yuk-tong hoped to spend his remaining years in the row of small, blue-brick houses where he was born and raised, but the 71-year-old’s Hong Kong village home will soon be bulldozed to make way for a vast tech hub. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland is […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "How to solve Hong Kong’s triple whammy: ageing population, baby dearth and job losses?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/how-to-solve-hong-kongs-triple-whammy-ageing-population-baby-dearth",
        "published": "2026-09-13T01:00:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Nikkei Asia",
        "title": "BOJ meeting, Semicon India, Hong Kong's first five-year plan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/boj-meeting-semicon-india-hong-kongs-first-five-year-plan",
        "published": "2026-09-13T05:01:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
        "title": "Northern Metropolis: Hong Kong homes flattened for HK$224 billion high-tech hub",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/northern-metropolis-hong-kong-homes-flattened-for-hk-224-billion-high",
        "published": "2026-09-13T05:33:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Hong Kong homes flattened for US$28 billion high-tech hub",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/hong-kong-homes-flattened-for-us-28-billion-high-tech-hub",
        "published": "2026-09-13T08:14:37.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}