Here comes the year of sheep! I wish you all a happy Chinese New Year and all the very best!

The annual Chinese New Year fireworks display at Victoria Harbour has become a popular celebratory event. On the evening of the display, families, friends and photography enthusiasts gather on both sides of Victoria Harbour to watch the spectacular fireworks. While you are watching and marveling at the fireworks, have you ever wondered that there is a team of professionals working prudently and diligently behind the scenes? They are our colleagues from the Mines Division of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD). From the preparation work to the discharge of fireworks and cleaning up afterwards, our colleagues must properly perform their duties to ensure that every part of the performance is conducted safely and successfully.

One of the more important daily duties of our colleagues from the Mines Division is to monitor the use of explosives at blasting works in Hong Kong. With the  commencement of some major infrastructure works in recent years, in 2014 alone the Mines Division issued over 12 000 certificates and permits for dangerous goods and conducted some 2 000 worksite inspections involving over 1 600 tonnes of explosives.

Even for a fireworks display which lasts for only about 20 minutes, our colleagues have to begin their preparation work several months beforehand. This includes  maintaining close contact with the event organisers and departments concerned; providing professional advice on the technical details of the fireworks display, positions of the barges and installation arrangements; examining the technical standards of the firework masters and assistants; approving the import applications of the fireworks into Hong Kong; conducting careful inspections on the use of different types of fireworks during set-up, circuit tests and discharge; and providing other technical support as appropriate.

On the evening of the display, while we are watching the fabulous fireworks on both sides of Victoria Harbour in amazement, our colleagues of the Mines Division are monitoring the discharge of the fireworks. When we leave after the show, our colleagues stay in their positions to look for and supervise the disposal of any misfired shells, whether on the barges or on either side of Victoria Harbour, before calling it a day.

Thanks to the contribution and excellent services of our colleagues, we can all enjoy the spectacular fireworks display with our family and friends at the scene or in front of the television happily and safely on this joyful evening.

Different types of fireworks and their visual effects are pictured on the right. Can you match them up correctly?