China to Build Second Hong Kong

China is planning to build a second Hong Kong city in Nansha, a district in southern China’s Guangdong province.

Preliminary plans indicate a city of around 100 square kilometres will be built to help alleviate the development problems currently experienced by Hong Kong due to land shortages, protests and environmental concerns. 

Hong Kong has an area of about 1,100 square kilometres and currently houses over seven million people.

The new city is expected to be developed into an international shipping hub. Its commercial importance will be boosted by the Guangdong free trade zone which was approved late last year. This zone will cover around 116 square kilometres.

China’s Xinhua news agency said the zone will deepen cooperation between Hong Kong and Macau which lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, across from Hong Kong. 

Nansha faces the sea and is 38 nautical miles from Hong Kong and 41 nautical miles from Macau. In December 2013, Nansha Port hit the record of 10 million teu since it was open in 2004.

Local media reports that the new city could be completed by 2020. It is expected to have a GDP of $64 billion.