New position to help HK government steer the development vision and coordinate policies

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government handed in a proposal to the Legislative Council to create an important new position: commissioner in charge of affairs relating to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.

The post will be at directorate level in the Greater Bay Area Development Office - a designated body in charge of Hong Kong's policies in the Bay Area development.

According to a document the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau submitted earlier this month to the LegCo's Panel on Commerce and Industry, the commissioner will formulate, coordinate and oversee policies in relation to Hong Kong's participation in the Bay Area development.

The commissioner will also provide advice on work priorities to the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs.

The commissioner will also shoulder the responsibility of contacting the relevant authorities, including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Guangdong provincial government and the Macao SAR Government in regard to matters relating to the Bay Area development.

The commissioner could enjoy a monthly salary of HK$260,600 ($33,196), on par with that of the commissioner for the Belt and Road Initiative which the government started recruiting from August.

The document also said the government will appoint an assistant commissioner of the office - another directorate post with a monthly salary of HK$187,150. The assistant commissioner will serve as the secretary to the SAR government's steering committee for the Bay Area development. The assistant commissioner will also lead the office in providing secretariat support to the steering committee as well as the HKSAR's participation in the State Council's leading group for the Bay Area development.

The annual cost of adding the two posts was estimated to be HK$5.3 million. The government also plans to create 17 non-directorate posts for the office in 2019-20 - estimated to generate an annual cost of HK$12.4 million. All the proposed posts, whether directorate or non-directorate, will be on a four-year term.

Subject to the views of the Panel on Commerce and Industry, the bureau plans to submit the proposal to the LegCo's Finance Committee for funding in April.

In October 2017, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced in her maiden Policy Address that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau will set up the Greater Bay Area Development Office to steer Hong Kong's participation in the Bay Area development.

In January, the bureau appointed Tommy Yuen Man-chung as director for constitutional and mainland affairs (special duties) to oversee the establishment of the office.

The Bay Area comprises nine cities in Guangdong and the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macao. The central government unveiled the development outline on Feb 18. It aims to turn the region into an international bay area that rivals the world's top city clusters in San Francisco, New York and Tokyo.