Gambling on land fill and infrastructure to reposition Macao in the Pearl River Delta

Abstract

Emerging regions worldwide increasingly involve cross-border relations. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) in south China in particular has been the focus of investigation in the recent literature on multiple jurisdiction regions, but with very little attention to Macao. Macao’s position in the region differs from that of Hong Kong, the other Special Administrative Region (SAR), for historical, economic and geopolitical reasons. Gaming has delivered wealth, along with social problems and growing dependency on the Mainland on a land base that is very small and geographically complex. Breaking out of its isolation as a post-colonial backwater involves redefining the relationship with neighbouring Zhuhai on the Mainland with hopes for stronger links with Hong Kong. An ambitious reclamation project will add about 350 ha of land to the territory, including underground space and transport infrastructure. Commodifying the new territories engages the Macao SAR in a role complementary to that outlined for Zhuhai. The gamble is that real estate-led development will support an economy that continues to depend largely on gaming. While the focus in the burgeoning literature on emerging regions is almost exclusively on institutional and economic integration, this paper looks at how cross-border integration may also involve urban plans. It is argued that extra-territorial pressures and rescaling of governance in the PRD are drivers for the development plans now being implemented.