According to the report, the "North Metro" will account for 60% of the public housing supply in the second five years, while it also has a bearing on the supply of private housing.

The Foundation recommends that the authorities should continue to implement the large-scale urbanisation of the New Territories, streamline the development process and prioritise transport infrastructure.

Mr Ip Man-kei, Vice President of the Hong Kong Solidarity Fund, suggested that the Government should develop "North City" with "infrastructure first", as in the past, the first residents of new towns were said to be "pioneers" because major infrastructure and transport facilities were not completed in time.

"In order to unlock the development potential of these sites and minimise delays, it is most important to put infrastructure in place first.

Secondly, we need to eliminate the risk of rezoning as early as possible and deal with the original occupiers of the "North City". As the second five-year period is expected to account for two-thirds of the 10-year public housing supply, up to 60% of public housing will come from the "North City", and half of these sites are fragmented rezoning sites such as brownfield clusters. These sites have a number of complex occupancy issues that may require additional time during the land resumption and clearance process, including the rehousing of the original occupiers, such as brownfield operators, residents and farmers.

The Foundation recommends that the authorities formulate targeted re-provisioning and resettlement strategies in advance, so that the original occupiers can be relocated early and the risk of delay can be removed as soon as possible.

Apart from the known projects, there are also a number of private development projects in the North City that are under planning application. In order to fully develop the North City as a breadbasket of supply and to release development potential for future supply, the Government has yet to address environmental issues. "Most of the North City is wetland and there are other environmentally sensitive areas, so it is important to strike a balance between development and environmental protection.

On the other hand, there are a number of different offensive facilities in the North City, such as slaughterhouses, landfills, sewage treatment plants, etc., which are not compatible with the development of the metropolitan area, and relocation or beautification of these facilities are key to releasing land in the North City.

The relocation or beautification of these facilities is the key to releasing land in the "North City". The "North City" involves a wide range of departments, including transport, sewage, conservation, environmental protection and land creation, etc. The Government should have inter-departmental co-ordination so that different departments can have a unified target, timetable and roadmap to take forward the project.