NEW YORK－The Greater Bay Area, or GBA, in South China has very bright prospects given its large-scale investment and unified planning, a US expert in transportation policy and urban planning said.

China's massive investment in world-class infrastructure from high-speed railways to top-tier international airports in the GBA will pay off handsomely over time, said Robert Cervero, professor emeritus with City and Regional Planning Faculty, the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.

The GBA is spread over 56,000 square kilometers and spans nine cities in Guangdong province, and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

"China's strong legacy of unified master planning－from cities to industries to education－will likely give it a competitive edge in the global marketplace over time, especially in the Greater Bay Area," said Cervero.

As East Asia continues to prosper and Southeast Asia continues to climb up the economic development ladder, the GBA is well positioned to be among the top urban hubs in the entire region.

The GBA is comparable to the San Francisco Bay Area and the New York metropolitan region, which are international nodes of commerce, major innovation hubs and international tourist destinations, said Cervero.

The three areas all have first-class universities and attract creative talent, he said.

"I'm struck that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region is much larger, both in population and geography, than the US counterparts," he said.

Attention should be paid to environmental protection not only to ensure healthy living and a high quality of life, but also to elevate the region as a global leader in combating climate change, which is particularly important in coastal regions, Cervero said.

Ensuring equal and fair access to basic needs will be critically important to integrating the region socially and economically and to aiding the surrounding areas, he said.

At the end of 2019, the GBA's population was 72 million, GDP was $1.67 trillion and per-capita GDP was $23,371, according to the GBA's development office with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In recent years, China has been pushing forward in-depth regional cooperation in the GBA with development plans unveiled in July 2017 and February 2019.

Xinhua