Following is the speech by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, at the Hong Kong Institute of Building Information Modelling (HKIBIM) Annual Conference 2017 today (November 22):
Dr Neo Chan (Chairman of HKIBIM), distinguished speakers, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. I am honoured to attend this special event organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Building Information Modelling.
The use of BIM technology has had more than a decade of history in Hong Kong. With the experience gained in the BIM pilot projects launched over the years, our works departments, together with their consultants and contractors, have started to proactively apply this technology in more construction projects.
As reaffirmed by the Chief Executive in her Policy Address, starting from 2018, the Government will adopt BIM technology in the design and construction of major capital works projects. We will also further promote this technology for private construction projects.
The Government will continue to work closely with the construction industry in the adoption of BIM. We have been collaborating with the Construction Industry Council (CIC) in setting BIM standards and guidelines and developing relevant training courses, which are two of the key success factors of BIM adoption based on many overseas success stories. To further gear up the local construction industry for full implementation of the technology, the CIC will launch new BIM training courses, including BIM project management and BIM data management for the construction industry.
With more and more BIM-enabled persons trained up, BIM will in time become one of the core skills of our construction industry participants, just like the migration to computer-aided drafting in the 1980s.
In addition to enhancing productivity, and reducing risks and costs in design and construction stages, BIM technology can also optimise and facilitate operation and maintenance.
To leverage the full benefits of BIM technology, Hong Kong must also get ready for the adoption of information-rich models built up during the design and construction stages. The continuous use of BIM in asset and facility management throughout the project life-cycle can deliver great values. In this connection, our works departments are working on the information requirements for their assets. We shall be using BIM for whole project life-cycle management with a view to delivering greater value and better services to the public.
BIM is also an important building block of smart city. The abundant amount of asset information stored in the BIM model can be leveraged in many other areas to create extra values. Integration of BIM and 3D spatial data, for example, is currently being explored and experimented by the Works Branch and the Planning and Lands Branch of my bureau collaboratively. The marriage of BIM and 3D Spatial Data would enable the construction and graphic information system industries to enrich their respective applications to provide better information to users, and help Hong Kong's development as a "Smart, Green and Resilient City".
Ladies and gentlemen, this annual conference is an ideal platform to gather BIM practitioners around to share their valuable experiences and learn from each other. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to you to look beyond short-term investments in software tools and staff training, and to take a long-term view and reap the benefits that BIM has to offer to all of us.
Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:35
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