About 400 construction industry experts and officials from Hong Kong and the Mainland attended the 2009 Mainland and Hong Kong Construction Industry Forum in Chengdu, Sichuan,today (April 9).
The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, this morning officiated at the opening ceremony of the forum with the Vice-Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the Central People's Government, Mr Qi Ji, and the Vice-Governor of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government, Ms Huang Yanrong.
“One of the purposes of the forum, held in Cheungdu this year, is to help those authorities involved in reconstruction to apply what they learned from the discussions on reconstruction work. I hope this forum can strengthen the relationship between HKSAR and Sichuan, as well as promote exchange of expertise, enhance co-operation and build a long-term and stable partnership between the construction industries of the Mainland and Hong Kong,” Mrs Lam said.
The theme of the forum was “Sustainable Urban Form: From Disaster Risk Reduction and Prevention to Quality Construction". Speakers at the forum included renowned experts on disaster risk prevention and reduction and earthquake matters. This event provided an invaluable opportunity for the construction industry on the Mainland and in Hong Kong to share their experiences and explore new ideas for rendering the best support for the reconstruction works in the Sichuan earthquake-stricken areas.
It featured three interactive discussion sessions, “Lessons learnt from disaster”, “Disaster risk prevention and reduction” and “Quality construction”. The Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr Mak Chai-kwong, delivered a concluding speech at the event.
The 220-member Hong Kong delegation comprises government officials, professionals and senior executives from the construction industry, trade associations, professional institutes, as well as tertiary education institutes.
Mrs Lam met officials of the Sichuan Provincial Forestry Administration Department to get an update on the reconstruction work at Wolong Nature Reserve. During the meeting, Mrs Lam said she hoped that the reconstruction projects could be implemented as soon as possible, particularly those related to people’s livelihoods.
Mrs Lam attended a forum dinner in the evening. She called for co-operation and unity in Hong Kong's construction industry to create more job opportunities for Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong delegation will visit the reconstruction projects in Dujiangyan, Deyang and Mianyang on April 10 and 11.
Mrs Lam will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (April 10).
Ends/Thursday, April 9, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:31
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