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Construction Sector Matters

Key Information

Introduction

The nine Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area

Since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in February 2019, cities within the area are rapidly taking forward development in accordance with the guiding directions set out in the plan, bringing about tremendous opportunities for the architectural and engineering sectors in Hong Kong. The Development Bureau has been proactively deliberating with the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (DHURD) of Guangdong Province to set up a simple registration system to facilitate eligible enterprises and professionals to start businesses and practise in the GBA.

The new measures, "Interim Guidelines for the Management of Hong Kong Engineering Construction Consultant Enterprises and Professionals Starting Business and Practising in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cities" (Interim Guidelines) which cover four professional sectors in architecture, engineering, surveying and landscape architecture, were promulgated on the website of the DHURD at the end of November 2020 and were effective from 1 January 2021.

The Interim Guidelines allow consultant firms on the two government lists, i.e. the Architectural and Associated Consultants Selection Board and the Engineering and Associated Consultants Selection Board, as well as professionals registered with relevant registration boards in Hong Kong, to be able to directly provide services in the GBA by obtaining equivalent qualifications in the Mainland through a registration system.

For information about equivalent qualifications under the Interim Guidelines, please refer to this table. For details, please refer to the information on the related mainland website.

The Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province promulgated the new measures under the "Management for Registration of Hong Kong and Macao Planning Professional Enterprises Starting Businesses in Guangdong Province" and "Matters Concerning Planning Professionals Registered in Hong Kong and Macao Practising in Guangdong Province" and were effective from 1 September 2021 and 19 February 2021 respectively, which include expanding the coverage of the Interim Guidelines to enable Hong Kong planning professional enterprises as well as professionals registered with the Planners Registration Board in Hong Kong to directly provide services in Guangdong Province including the nine Mainland cities of the GBA after registration.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Qianhai in Shenzhen

Similar measures have also promulgated in Qianhai and were effective from 1 October 2020.

In addition to the consultant firms on the two government lists (AACSB and EACSB), the new measures in Qianhai also cover companies in the "List of Approved Contractors for Public Works" and those in some categories of the "List of Approved Specialist Contractors for Public Works", as well as professionals registered with relevant registration boards in Hong Kong, to be able to directly provide services in the Qianhai by obtaining equivalent qualifications in the Mainland through a registration system.

For information about equivalent qualifications, please refer to this table. For details, please refer to the information on the related mainland website (for enterprises) and related mainland website (for professionals).

The Qianhai Authority has also set up an enquiry hotline (tel. no. 0755-88105488) and an email address (szqhbasq@qh.sz.gov.cn) to answer enquiries from Hong Kong enterprises and professionals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hengqin in Zhuhai

For Hengqin, similar measures were promulgated on 1 December 2019.

Consultant firms registered by relevant professional institutions/associations and registered contractors of the Buildings Department, as well as authorized persons (AP), registered structural engineers (RSE), registered geotechnical engineers (RGE), and authorized signatories (AS) of the Buildings Department can also benefit. For details, please refer to the related mainland website.

The Hengqin New Area Committee, Construction of Environmental Protection Agency has also set up an enquiry hotline (tel. no. 0756-2990184 / 0756-8841879) and an email address (zhhqjshbj@163.com) to answer enquiries from Hong Kong enterprises and professionals.

Enquiry

For enquiries, please call 3509-8693 or email to gba_measures@devb.gov.hk