Reports emerged late last week that our home, the Pearl River Delta, could merge to become one behemoth of a city stretching from Zhaoqing in the west to Huizhou in the east, covering everything in between.
The Guardian in London reports that the merger will create a 16,000 square-mile urban area, which will also include Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhongshan and Zhuhai:
Over the next six years, around 150 major infrastructure projects will mesh the transport, energy, water and telecommunications networks of the nine cities together, at a cost of some 2 trillion yuan (£190 billion). An express rail line will also connect the hub with nearby Hong Kong.
“The idea is that when the cities are integrated, the residents can travel around freely and use the health care and other facilities in the different areas,” said Ma Xiangming, the chief planner at the Guangdong Rural and Urban Planning Institute and a senior consultant on the project.
The question is, is it a good idea? Transport is rapidly improving between the PRD cities, most recently with the opening of the high-speed train connecting Zhuhai with Guangzhou. But making the entire region one city is a big step. In fact, while the government is planning the merger, no timetable has yet been set.
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I believe some amalgamation is possible, getting this whole region under one authority is going to be extremely difficult. Why not start with a north region and a south region or an east or west region first. If it ever should happen this area would be an economic power house, especially if HK is included.
Crazy. I read that the size of the proposed mega city will be twice that of Wales! I think it could be really good for the region, provided the government is actually willing to pony up the 2 trillion yuan to make it happen. Geographically, the cities are all quite close. Creating a solid transportation network between them could really aid development and spread the wealth throughout the region. Then again, it could also result in the largest urban sprawl on the planet!