Members of the Land and Development Advisory Committee (LDAC) were briefed by the Civil Engineering and Development Department on the work done and planned by the inter-departmental Climate Change Working Group on Infrastructure (CCWGI), and by the Development Bureau (DEVB) on the development of the Common Spatial Data Infrastructure (CSDI) in Hong Kong in a meeting held in the afternoon on July 11.
Members noted that the CCWGI, formed in June 2016 under the directive of the Steering Committee on Climate Change chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, had been co-ordinating efforts among works departments in combating adverse effects of climate change on government infrastructure. The CCWGI had revised the parameters on sea level, rainfall and wind speed for the design of government infrastructure in the relevant design standards, taking into account the findings of the Fifth Assessment Report published by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2013 and the Paris Agreement in 2015. The CCWGI had already commissioned several consultancy studies, including a strategic study to identify the scope of enhancement works in strengthening the resilience of existing government critical infrastructure, and will soon conduct further studies covering a frequency analysis of extreme sea levels and sensitivity checks on the potential impact on the coastal government critical infrastructure if hit directly by simulated super typhoons. Members welcomed the Government's timely initiative in commencing the relevant reviews and studies, and agreed that continuous efforts should be made, including conducting more in-depth studies to predict the adverse effects of climate change and exploring the extent to which the findings and follow-up measures might be applied to private developments.
The DEVB aims to roll out the CSDI for public use by the end of 2022, and the 3D digital map will be made available in phases from late 2019 to 2023, subject to funding approval from the Legislative Council Finance Committee for the $300 million earmarked in the 2019-20 Budget. Members were briefed on the benefits of the CSDI in terms of open and transparent data, and its ability to boost the digital economy, enhance data-driven decision-making in the Government, spur innovation and improve quality of life for the community. They welcomed the CSDI initiative and said they would like the project to be taken forward as quickly as possible and supported the DEVB's application for funding from the Legislative Council. Taking note of the CSDI's initial focus on spatial data owned by the DEVB's family of departments, Members supported the need to diversify data sources to include data that is highly relevant to citizens' daily lives such as data related to welfare services units and real-time public transport information. They also highlighted the need to engage stakeholders in the early stage, to ensure web accessibility and user-friendliness, and to address concerns over data privacy and intellectual property. These views will be taken fully into account by the DEVB as it continues to develop the CSDI.
Ends/Friday, July 12, 2019
Issued at HKT 11:40
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