Question: On the first anniversary of its "take-off", what are the results of Hong Kong's low-altitude economy?

China News Service reporters Dai Menglan and Zhou Shengyun

A Meituan drone ("Keeta Drone") took off into the sky carrying a freshly cooked hot meal. After flying across the sea for more than ten minutes, it landed smoothly at the entrance of Ting Kok Village, Tai Po, Hong Kong. Volunteers took warm meals from the drone and delivered them to the elders in the village. Before the opening of this drone route, such a food delivery journey took more than an hour.

Drone food delivery is a footnote for Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy from concept to application. On March 20, 2025, the Hong Kong SAR government announced the list of the first batch of pilot projects for the low-altitude economy "regulatory sandbox", marking the "take-off" of Hong Kong's low-altitude economy.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government said in an interview with a reporter from China News Service that in the past year, Hong Kong has had 32 low-altitude economic "regulatory sandbox" projects tested within designated routes, of which more than 20 are more mature, lower-risk and do not involve areas with high human traffic, such as using drones to clean building exterior walls, inspect overhead cables and railway facilities, etc., and are gradually realizing normal operations.

The rapid development of Hong Kong's low-level economy has led to a significant increase in market participation. Ge Peifan, a member of the SAR Legislative Council and founding president of the Greater Bay Area Low-altitude Economic Alliance, told reporters that when the alliance was established in September 2024, it was expected to have 30 members in one year, which was ideal. But now there are more than 60 members, far exceeding expectations.

She pointed out that the adoption of the "regulatory sandbox" model, which gradually enriches the application scenarios of low-altitude flights while ensuring flight safety, is an innovation in Hong Kong's regulatory system. "The recognition of the development of Hong Kong's low-altitude economy industry is increasing. In the past, we went to the mainland to learn experience, but now many practitioners from the mainland and overseas come to Hong Kong to learn from their experience."

"Hong Kong's low-altitude economy is developing very fast, but it is not just about speed." Wu Changyong, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Low-altitude Economy Association and chairman of Future Yixin Flight Technology Co., Ltd., was selected into the first batch of pilot projects and joined hands with the instant delivery platform "Lalamove" to carry out drone logistics test flights from Pak Shek Kok to Tai Po. He said that the SAR government's "Working Group on the Development of Low-altitude Economy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Working Group") has very strict requirements on the operational details and related data of routes under different weather and scenarios, and flight safety has always been placed in an important position.

In addition to exploring diversified directions such as "low-altitude + cultural tourism, logistics, and ocean" in Hong Kong, Wu Changyong attaches more importance to Hong Kong's role as a bridge to help enterprises "go overseas."

He said that Hong Kong has obvious advantages in professional services and connection with the international market. The company is planning to use Hong Kong as a platform to explore the expansion of relevant operating models to Southeast Asian markets with numerous islands, complex terrain, and relatively weak ground logistics infrastructure, to help improve logistics efficiency in Southeast Asia.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau introduced that based on the successful experience of the "Regulatory Sandbox", the working group launched the "Regulatory Sandbox X" in November last year, aiming to handle more complex application scenarios, such as drone traffic management system demonstrations.

In terms of exploring the cross-border flight of drones, the SAR government has established a cooperation and communication mechanism with relevant mainland units to discuss cross-border low-altitude flight route planning, cargo clearance mechanisms and other issues, and strive to launch test flights as soon as possible. This year, the working group will also draft Hong Kong's "Planning Action Plan for the Development of Low-Altitude Economy" to lay the foundation for the standardized development of low-altitude economy and build Hong Kong into an Asia-Pacific hub for low-altitude innovative applications.

A report released by the United Hong Kong Fund in September last year estimated that by 2050, the added value of Hong Kong's low-level economic industries is expected to reach approximately HK$350 billion. Ge Peifan believes that if Hong Kong's low-altitude economy wants to create larger-scale benefits, it needs to develop in coordination with sister cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and gradually promote cross-city low-altitude pedestrian flow and logistics applications. "You can imagine that in the future, it may only take 20 to 30 minutes to fly between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and the life circle in the Greater Bay Area will be more closely connected."