Guangdong province will “actively align” with Hong Kong’s strategy for the Northern Metropolis megaproject and highlight areas of collaboration as part of the province’s 15th five-year plan.

The Guangdong provincial government on Tuesday published its development blueprint, with the term “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” mentioned 57 times in the document and a chapter dedicated to the region’s development.

Its proposal for economic and social development, as part of Beijing’s sweeping 2026-2030 plan, set an average annual economic growth rate of about 5 per cent and clearly listed “persistent efforts to promote the development of the region” as one of its primary tasks for the next five years.

Provincial authorities placed heavy emphasis on the development of the bay area, which refers to Beijing’s initiative to integrate Hong Kong and Macau with nine mainland Chinese cities into a hi-tech economic powerhouse.

In the next five years, Guangdong authorities said they would develop “distinctive cooperation platforms” tailored to local conditions, naming the Northern Metropolis as an area of focus.

“We will actively align with the development strategy of Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis and collaborate on park development, industrial introduction, project layout, facility construction, talent attraction and environmental protection,” they said in the report.