Hong Kong is moving full speed ahead with the building of two New Territories towns that will be part of the government’s ambitious Northern Metropolis project, the development chief has said following an inspection of the construction sites.

Set to become home to about 188,000 people, the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North developments would get their first batches of private and public housing residents by 2023 and 2026, respectively, Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun predicted on Sunday.

“When fully completed, about 71,800 housing units will be provided, of which nearly 70 per cent are public housing, accommodating about 188,100 new people (in total),” Wong wrote on his official blog.

He added that the area would also reserve about 868,000 square metres for commercial use, with an eye towards creating more than 40,000 new jobs.

Secretary for Development Michael Wong (right) recently visited two of the Northern Metropolis development sites with city engineers.

Land developed in the first phase of the project will accommodate about 53,000 people living in 21,000 flats, of which 18,000 are to be public housing units.

Wong said he and members of the Civil Engineering and Development Department had recently made a site visit to Kwu Tung North Area 19, which will provide about 9,000 public housing units and accommodate about 23,000 people.

According to Wong, the area is now going through the land-levelling process, which is on track to be completed by mid-2022 before being handed over to the Housing Department for construction.

The group also visited Area 15 of the Fanling North New Development Area, which is expected to provide 6,100 public housing units and accommodate about 15,000 people.

Last week, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor publicly pushed for a shortened timeline for the project, saying her administration hoped to shave five years off a project initially targeted for completion in 20 years.

On Sunday, Wong said the government was working towards speeding up the process on fronts ranging from technical research to legal procedures.

“The current government is determined to increase the supply of land,” he said.

Announced during Lam’s policy address on October 6, the Northern Metropolis is expected to provide as many as 926,000 units, including 390,000 existing flats in Yuen Long and North districts, that will ultimately provide homes for 2.5 million residents and up to 68,000 jobs.

The proposal marks a substantial shift in development strategy, away from Hong Kong Island and towards the city’s north in a bid for greater integration with mainland China under its latest five-year plan.

Aside from the Kwu Tung North/Fanling North development zone, the metropolis will include existing towns in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, Fanling, Sheung Shui and their neighbouring rural areas, as well as five other areas now in the planning or construction stage.