Technology and tourism are two obvious areas where Hong Kong and other cities in the Pearl River Delta can boost development, but local governments should be looking to widen their horizon of co-operation, say city leaders.

Speaking at the Cities Forum at the PRD Conference, Chen Yingchun, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, said high-tech production in Shenzhen currently accounts for 48 percent of the cities total industrial output.

"Hong Kong holds advantages in information access and human resources, software and especially in R&D of application software," he said. "So we hope that the two territories can conduct co-operation in high-tech areas."

Mr Chen said he also hopes that, especially under CEPA, Hong Kong's expertise in the tourism industry could be tapped to develop tourism in the PRD, which is growing strongly.

"I suggest that a corridor be set up from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and Shenzhen to the Pearl River Delta," he said. Once Disneyland opens, the theme park will become a great asset for the tourism industry not just in Hong Kong, but in the Pearl River Delta as a whole, he added.

"So I hope that Hong Kong and Guangdong may be able to set up a branch, or an office that can co-ordinate tourism in Hong Kong and Guangdong."

Chen Mingde, Vice Mayor of Guangzhou, speaking on the panel, said it is important to have a single integrated plan to help steer the development of the Pearl River Delta forward.

"I can see the Pearl River Delta not just competing between one city and the other city, but as a whole region competing against other economic zones and economic regions," he said.

To make that goal a reality, closer co-operation within the delta will be necessary, and CEPA may just be the platform that can make that happen, said Xian Wen, Executive Vice Mayor of Zhuhai.

CEPA has created a platform to allow cooperation within the delta to go beyond city to city, and the area should learn from how Europe has cooperated to compete globally as the largest trading bloc.

"In Europe the boundaries between countries are being blurred and access to each other has been made much easier. If the same conditions are created between us, we will be speeding ahead," he said.

Even though the planned bridge is a strategic milestone in the co-operation between Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau, he feels it is only a bond, and that future co-operation under CEPA should unfold across more fields and with a broader scope.