Macau has been issued with a stark warning over its future within the greater Pearl River Delta region – integrate to survive. The call, in an interview with Macau Business’s sister publication Business Intelligence, comes from Lao Boon-lap, the president of the Macau Association of Economic Sciences.
“If Macau wants to achieve further development, especially in terms of diverse economic development, it is vital to establish a closer relationship with the neighbouring cities in the Pearl River Delta. Macau should grasp hold of the opportunities out there,’’ said Lao.
Despite there being only a few items in the development blueprint specifically dedicated to the city, it does provide a significant road map for Macau to follow as it shapes its future development.

Leading role

The blueprint, released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and passed in the State Council, chaired by Premier Wen Jia-Bao, at the end of last year, includes strategies to tackle existing regional challenges, and offers a way forward for the economic development of the region, leading to what it termed a more prosperous and modernised era.
Lao believes that by using the NDRC’s plan the Pearl River Delta can cement its leading role in the economic development of the nation.
During a visit to Guangdong in July last year, Premier Wen made it clear that the production of a plan was a priority. Two months later, Du Ying, vice-chairman of the NDRC, carried out a research study across Guangdong Province with a group of 180 delegates, including members of the State Council and other planning departments.
It took in 24 cities across the PRD and Guangdong province, held 122 seminars and made over 260 visits to businesses to collect data and opinions, which led to a final report covering 15 separate topics.

Small mentions

Only a few sections of the report are dedicated to Macau and Hong Kong and in Lao’s opinion, this is because the central government have kept a close eye on the city and have a fairly clear idea of what they see as the way forward for the city.
“Afterall, the plan was created in the view of Guangdong itself, it is unlikely to include Hong Kong and Macau in geat detail. However, there have been quite a lot of studies and discussions on the issue of closer cooperation among the three regions,’’ he says.
Lao has been involved in PRD development planning for the past three years and he says it is generally understood that the big regional picture in a globalised context is the way forward and the three regions cannot implement policies and develop on their own.
He says it is crucial to build stronger ties to bring about higher productivity across the region.
The study group behind the ‘Report of the Greater Pearl River Delta Urban Coordination and Development’ – which was three years in the making – was made up of mainly urban planning departments from Guangdong and Hong Kong, economists and urban planners from the three regions.
Lao says the scope of the planning was unprecedented.

Globally competitive

The report sees the PRD forged into a “globally competitive’’ and the “most vigorous area’’ in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. It also aims to optimise the interaction between the three regions and open up the economy: “The plan lays out solid policies and goals for cooperation. Despite the fact there has been ongoing co-operation, it has always been easier said than done,’’ said Lao.
“One of the challenges are the differences in the three political systems. Unlike the Yangtze River Delta development where the cities share a common political and economic system and can mature at the same pace, under the policy of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, it is a different story for the two SARs and Guangdong. There are a lot of hurdles to cross,’’ he adds.
Another challenge is the competition among the regions.
Shanghai inevitably takes the leading role in the Yangtze River Delta development but Macau is unlikely to find itself in a similar position and neither Guangzhou, Hong Kong nor Shenzhen can be assured of taking the lead. If this crucial issue is not addressed, it will make decision making difficult. One example is that the Hangzhou Bay Bridge has been built, yet construction of the Macau, Hong Kong and Zhuhai crossing hasn’t even started.
“This illustrates the position of each city in the Pearl River Delta region has not be clarified. Should there be no proper long-term planning for the region, it will lead to more fierce competition and a waste of resources and mean less co-operation not more,’’ says Lao.
Macau, in Lao’s opinion, should actively express its views and opinions to Hong Kong and Guangdong to enhance their understanding of it’s needs: “We should admit, Macau has been in a passive state, and has not given sufficient data and opinions, which in turn has setback the city’s development and affected its influence.’’
Lao was happy to see the MSAR government take a more active role in PRD integration. In the Policy Address, Lao Si-Io, Secretary for Transport and Public Works announced that the government will work with Guangdong, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Hong Kong to expand the scope of cooperation.

Working in practice

At the 2008 Guangdong-Macau Joint Conference on December 4 last year, both regions shared a common view on the development of Hengqin Island but Lao remains uncertain how this will actually work.
“It was rumoured that Guangzhou Chime-Long Group would invest in building a theme park on Hengqin. But with the group’s two theme parks in Guanzhou, how attractive will the new establishment be?’’
Lao, says under the plan, the PRD regions should strengthen cooperation on infrastructure construction, shipping, logistics, trade, conventions and tourism. However, it is important for each region to have their own position. Hengqin and Macau should formulate tourism policies which will be mutually beneficial but also mark the island out as different from other places in
the PRD.

2008-2020: Goals for Delta development

By 2012

1. Per-capita annual output of the region to reach 80,000 yuan (MOP93,473), 53 percent of it from service sector. Increase per-capita income. Average life span to reach 78 years. More than 80 percent of the area to be urbanised.
2. The service sector to account for 20 percent of the regional trade.
3. Some key areas to gain more autonomy and reach global standards.
4. Internet and household broadband connectivity to reach 90 and 65 percent of the population respectively. 60 percent of the internet users will utilise wireless internet.
5. 85 percent of domestic refuse to be treated, 80 percent of the urban and rural sewage and 90 percent of the water used by industry to be recycled or treated before discharge.
6. A social security system to cover all urban and rural residents.
7. Pension insurance will cover 90 percent of urban workers, more than 80 percent of migrant workers and 90 percent of the farming population.
8. Educational reform.

By 2020

1.85 percent of the region will be urbanised.
2.Regional per capita annual output will rise to 135,000 yuan, 60 percent from from service sector. Per-capita income will be double that of 2012. Average life span to rise to 85 years.
3.Service sector will account for more than 40 percent of regional trade.
4.Development of 10 China based multinationals with annual sales of US$20 billion.
5.Development as an innovation hub.
6.100 percent of domestic refuse to be treated, 90 percent of the urban and rural sewage treated before discharge and 80 percent of the industrial water to be recycled.
7.A social security system to cover all urban and rural residents to ensure basic public health services for all.
8.Establishment of one to two renowned universities in collaboration with foreign institutions of higher education.

by Herman He