The central government anticipates that around 120,000 people from Macao – about a quarter of the current population – will be living in Hengqin by 2035, according to a local media report. It also assumes that some 80,000 will be working on the Chinese mainland.
The short-term projection is that about 20,000 people from Macao will be living in Hengqin by the end of next year, with some 5,000 working there, says the report in Hoje Macau.
The paper says the figures have been laid out in the so-called Hengqin Plan, unveiled by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) last week.
[See more: Macao’s young people don’t want to work in Zhuhai]
The plan calls for the transformation of the 106-square-kilometre island – part of Zhuhai – into a key part of what’s being called the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao science and technology innovation corridor.
In his latest policy address, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng stressed that 2024 would be a crucial year for Hengqin and that it was “essential to accelerate” various construction projects on the island.
Macau New Neighbourhood (MNN) is the first housing development in Hengqin aimed at Macao residents. It consists of 27 residential towers containing a total of 4,279 flats. Applications for the units opened in late November.
