CUHK to bid for Hung Shui Kiu university town land

Chinese University of Hong Kong will bid for one of the first three sites in the Northern Metropolis University Town in Hung Shui Kiu, Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Lo said, but warned that the government's staggered tendering process and high construction costs pose major challenges. In an interview with Ming Pao published on Tuesday, Lo said the university town project would allow the city's eight publicly funded universities to expand their footprint and increase their impact on society. "Our campus is currently relatively small, like a boutique hotel, and I believe this Northern Metropolis University Town has given us a rare opportunity to have some land to expand our footprint," he said. He said Hong Kong universities enjoy strong international reputations and high rankings but are limited in size. Lo said scale is important for universities to produce research that can "change the world", as campus size affects the number of researchers, which in turn affects patents and publications. The university town would help break through the space constraint, he said. He noted that the university had established an InnoHub for New Quality Industries in Qianhai, near Hung Shui Kiu, in March this year, and believed there would be synergy effects. He said the university was...