Lawmakers support NM bill as second reading resumes

Lawmakers have voiced their support for a bill that aims to fast track the development of the Northern Metropolis, as the second reading for the dedicated legislation resumed on Wednesday. Andrew Lam from the Election Committee noted that society had a strong consensus towards accelerating the mega project development in terms of speed, quality and efficiency. “The government, with the determination to break the shackles of the traditional systems, through special handling and the mindset of removing barriers and easing restrictions, established a brand new legal framework for the Northern Metropolis’ land development, infrastructure works, noise regulation, as well as cross-boundary flow of elements," he said. The DAB’s Yiu Ming suggested the government step up the public’s right to know and oversight by reporting to lawmakers of the latest developments more frequently. “I think that the government, after the legislation is implemented, should regularly publish quantitative indicators, such as the average handling time for different types of projects," he said. "At the same time, as the scale of the Northern Metropolis is enormous and involves large-scale land disposal, I suggest the government increase the frequency of reporting to the Legislative Council from once per year to once every six months.” Tam Chun-kwok said the mega hub...