The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which had drawn worldwide attention came to a successful conclusion in Beijing earlier on. The Chief Executive called the trip “fruitful” and pointed out that countries around the world attached great importance to the significance of infrastructure in social and economic development. In fact, with the Belt and Road Initiative progressing in full speed, Hong Kong is undoubtedly capable of playing to its unique strengths. Our construction and engineering industry is adept at capitalising on the international market, enjoys a good reputation, boasts excellent and international professional services teams and professional talent from around the world, and maintains global commercial and social networks. Therefore, it is highly experienced in exploring new markets, project management, aligning itself with international standards, etc. We expect that members of the industry can seize the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and together extensively explore the infrastructure markets in the Belt and Road countries, so as to transform Hong Kong into a platform for providing high-end professional services for these countries......

The annual major art event “Le French May Arts Festival” will make its debut at the Central Harbourfront this Thursday and it will last for four days till Sunday (i.e. from 18 to 21 May). Recently, I chatted with my colleagues about this event and noted with interest that almost without us noticing it, the mega event hotspot at the Central Harbourfront has been operating for nearly three years, and a new short-term tenancy has just been granted for the site. Looking ahead, we hope to see more variety in the events being held and will encourage more groups and organisations to take part in it. We aim to make more optimal use of this large outdoor space to attract more people to participate in the events being held to achieve our ultimate goal of building a harbourfront for the enjoyment of all......

As announced by the Chief Executive in his 2011-12 Policy Address, the Government is determined to develop Kowloon East (KE), covering Kai Tak, Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong Business Areas, into a new core business district (CBD) with a range of commercial, leisure, recreational and tourism facilities, so as to attract world-class enterprises to move in and support the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s economy. However, to develop a successful CBD and provide KE with quality external and internal linkage services that will enhance connectivity in the area, we need a convenient, fast, safe, reliable and well-planned green transport linkage system with adequate carrying capacity. With this in mind, we have launched another round of public consultation (PC) exercise and hope to listen to your views......

Long-term and forward-looking urban strategic planning has played a vital role in Hong Kong’s urban development in the past half the century or so. Amid the various global and local challenges, the Development Bureau and the Planning Department commenced the study titled “Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030” (“Hong Kong 2030+”) in 2015 to update the territorial development strategy for Hong Kong. We launched a six-month public engagement (PE) exercise in October 2016 to share with the public our strategic planning concepts, including the three building blocks (i.e. planning for a liveable high-density city, embracing new economic challenges and opportunities, and creating capacity for sustainable growth); a conceptual spatial framework encompassing a metropolitan business core, two strategic growth areas, three primary development axes and a supporting transport network. “Hong Kong 2030+” helps explore our strategies and feasible options for the overall spatial planning, land and infrastructure development beyond 2030. Today (30 April) is the last day of the PE exercise. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to members of the public for their enthusiastic participation in and insightful suggestions on “Hong Kong 2030+”. Together, we will help shape our home beyond 2030......

With the rainy season in Hong Kong approaching, various government departments have started taking precautionary measures against natural disasters. Tasked with management of slope safety, the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) stands ready to deal with landslide threats. Although landslide incidents with casualties and fatalities have been few and far between in recent years, we should never let down our guard. This year, the GEO puts special focus on the promotion of slope safety, and hosted the pre-wet season media briefing on slope safety not long ago. Apart from briefing on the progress of its various landslide risk reduction measures, the GEO also introduced a new TV Announcement in Public Interest on slope safety, so as to convey practical messages on personal protection to the public and remind them to stay vigilant at all times……