The Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Works), Mr Lo Yiu-ching, said today (September 11) that as the scale of infrastructure projects carried out by the SAR Government kept on growing, the Government was considering increasing public and private partnership as well as adopting diversified models for project financing and contracting so as to allow more private enterprises to take part in the construction and operation of infrastructure projects.
He said this would not only boost the flexibility and economic effectiveness of the financing and operation of infrastructure projects, but could also open up new development channels for private enterprises.
Mr Lo Yiu-ching made the above remarks while officiating at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Mainland and Hong Kong Conference on "Urban Infrastructure Development and Construction Market Regulation" in Urumqi.
Also attending the opening ceremony, which marked the 10th anniversary of the construction trade conference between Mainland and Hong Kong, were Vice-Minister of Construction, Mr Liu Zhifeng; and Mayor of Urumqi, Mr Naiyimu Yasen. The largest ever delegation of over 150 people from Hong Kong and over 120 delegates from the Mainland also attended the ceremony.
Mr Lo said, "Infrastructure is a key element in the development of a city. High quality infrastructure does not only speed up economic growth, but can also strengthen the competitiveness of a city and raise the citizens' living standards.
"To cope with the sustainable development of our economy and to enhance our position as an international financial centre as well as a business and logistics centre, the SAR Government will reserve $29 billion a year for infrastructure during the next five years, including mega projects like Kai Tak Airport Development, Central - Wan Chai Bypass, etc. On cross-boundary traffic, the SAR Government will actively follow up projects such as the preparatory work for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and will make the best effort to study projects relating to the Northern Link and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which are aimed at stepping up the trade connection between Hong Kong and the nearby Pearl River Delta Region."
Mr Lo outlined the improvement measures on the operation and management of the construction trade introduced by the SAR Government. The government set up the Construction Industry Review Committee in 2000 to promote reform of the construction trade. The committee has made 109 recommendations for improvement. Subsequently, the Government set up the "Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination Board" in 2001 to lead the reform in the construction trade. Through the concerted efforts of the Government and the trade, nearly all the recommended improvements have been completed.
Major measures to improve the management and regulation of the construction trade include the following:
(1) On establishing the culture of accountability within the trade, the responsibilities of various parties involved in the work projects, including employers, architects, engineers, main contractors, sub-contractors, works supervisors, construction workers, etc, are clearly set out. Apart from regulation through legislation, the government has taken an active role in promoting ethical standards on self-regulation within the trade to strengthen accountability of people in the trade.
(2) In enhancing tender assessment, the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (ETWB) set up in 2002 a public works tender assessment system which strikes a balance between quality and tender price, taking into account various factors like technical strength, past performance, site safety and environmental performance of the bidders. This will encourage the consultants and contractors to continuously improve their performance in order to win the contracts.
(3) On sub-contracting, multi-layered sub-contracting without proper supervision will seriously affect the progress, quality and safety of works. The ETWB, therefore, introduced the Sub-contractor Management Plan in 2002 to restrict the number of layers of specific works. In addition, the ETWB implemented the Voluntary Subcontractors Registration Scheme (VSRS) in 2003 to encourage the trade to set up a self-regulatory system. Since 2004, public works main contractors are required to employ sub-contractors from the VSRS list.
(4) To tackle arrears of workers' wages, the ETWB introduced a series of monitoring measures in May this year to combat such irregularities.
(5) To implement the Construction Workers Registration Scheme (CWRS), the Government completed the required legislative procedures in 2004 for the setting up of the Construction Workers Registration Authority. The scheme is aimed at enhancing the craftsmanship of construction workers and the quality of works, to minimise wages arrears and to tackle illegal employment.
(6) The successful implementation of these improvement measures rests on the support and participation of the construction trade. In May this year, legislation was passed for the setting up of the Construction Industry Council to replace the Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination Board. The council comprises professionals of the trade as well as representatives of consultancy firms, contractors, suppliers, construction workers, academic and training institutes and the Government.
Mr Lo said, "The establishment of the Construction Industry Council will lead the construction trade in Hong Kong into a new era. We believe that with the full support of the trade, the Construction Industry Council will be able to consolidate the culture of change within the industry and continue to spearhead the development of the construction industry in Hong Kong."
The conference is aimed at promoting the exchange of construction technology and expertise and enhance the co-operation between the construction industry in the Mainland and Hong Kong. It is jointly organised by the Ministry of Construction; the People's Government of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; and the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau.
The three major topics to be discussed in the conference are: the impact of urban infrastructure development on urban planning; development and regulation of the construction market; and construction of urban infrastructure and safety management.
After their arrival yesterday, Mr Lo Yiu-ching and about 130 members of the delegation visited the city of Urumqi to study the latest developments in infrastructure and investment there.
Upon completion of the conference on September 12, Mr Lo Yiu-ching will lead a five-day study mission to Dunhuang and Chengdu with 25 members of the delegation on the following day. They will see the latest developments in infrastructure and investment and learn more about the development potential of the cities in order to promote opportunities for co-operation.
Ends/Monday, September 11, 2006