[4] On 20 April 2012, the former deputy director of the Chief Executive-elect's Competition and Election Office, Mr. Ho Wing-him, stated that Leung Chun-ying planned to transform Tung Chung and Tin Shui Wai after taking office, and would then plan to build hotels and shopping malls and other consumer venues in Tung Chung, mainly to attract visitors to Hong Kong.

As Tung Chung has a population of only 100,000, there is still plenty of room for development, and the proximity to the Hong Kong International Airport and AsiaWorld-Expo has a large number of tourists passing through.

[11][12][13] On 5 February 2018, the Tung Chung New Town Extension Project was launched, in which 130 hectares of land will be reclaimed and the first phase of reclamation is expected to be completed in 2020.

In his 2016 policy address, then Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he would study the 30-hectare Siu Ho Wan depot above the MTR for residential development.

The MTRCL commissioned a consultancy study, and the preliminary development proposal released in July 2017 indicated that up to 108 residential blocks could be built above the depot, providing 14,000 dwellings and a 320,000-square-foot shopping mall.

[16] The environmental assessment report for this development was approved with conditions on 29 November 2017, and the statutory planning process of the Town Planning Board is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2018.Meanwhile, Siu Ho Wan was listed as one of the five proposed near-shore reclamation sites during the 2013 Stage 2 Public Engagement for Land Supply Enhancement.

[17] By 2019, according to the MTR property director, Tang Chi-fai, private and subsidized housing will be provided above the Siu Ho Wan depot, with a total of 14,000 units.

In order to save money, many people in the district will let their elderly buy groceries from public markets in Tsing Yi or Tsuen Wan.

Some groups have advocated for Tung Chung to develop a "bridgehead economy",[29] and to take advantage of the economic opportunities of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

[32][33] On 11 November, a campaign was launched called "Reclaim Tung Chung" to reduce the impact of excessive tourists on people's livelihood.