Hong Kong and Mainland China Collaborate on Innovative Transport Infrastructure Projects in Shanghai Session.

HyD holds sharing session on Hong Kong's major transport infrastructure projects to exchange innovative engineering experiences with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai

The Director of Highways, Mr Tony Yau, today (May 9) led a department delegation in a sharing session on Hong Kong's major transport infrastructure projects with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai to jointly exchange innovative experiences in implementing transport infrastructure works. The sharing session attracted the participation of many Mainland counterparts, who came from more than 20 contractors, light-rail manufacturers, railway operators, design institutes, etc which are respectively central state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises and civilian-run enterprises, including China Railway Group Limited, China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited represented by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Company Limited, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Company Limited, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Company Limited, BYD Company Limited, Shanghai Shenkai Public Transport Operation Management Company Limited, and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Company Limited, etc.

At the sharing session, the Highways Department (HyD) introduced the major findings of the Strategic Studies on Railways and Major Roads beyond 2030, which covered cross-boundary railway projects (the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) and the Northern Link Spur Line); smart and green mass transit systems (the East Kowloon Line and the South Island Line (West)); and strategic route projects (the Northern Metropolis Highway and Route 11) being planned and implemented by the department to the Mainland counterparts. The attendees were very interested in the implementation of these projects.

The HyD will soon seek funding approval for the investigation and design work of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project from the Legislative Council. Government Engineer of Railway Development Mr Thomas Sze said at the sharing session that the preliminary design of the project would commence in the second half of 2025, while at the same time the department would invite relevant contractors and operators to submit expressions of interest to provide their views on project proposals, procurement and financial agreements, so as to facilitate the department in ascertaining the market's interest and capability in the construction and operation of the project, thereby formulating appropriate tender specifications and terms. Mr Sze appealed for active participation of interested parties and added that the HyD would strive to award the works contract and commence the detailed design and construction works between 2027 and 2028, with a view to completing the works and achieving simultaneous commissioning of the Hong Kong section and the Shenzhen section by 2034 to 2035. In addition, the HyD is actively exploring with Mainland counterparts to adopt Mainland design standards and construction specifications in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project as a cross-boundary railway project, as well as the arrangement of introducing Mainland new machineries, construction materials and innovative construction technologies in the project, with an aim to further achieving savings in construction costs and compressing construction time.

Mr Yau said that the teams of Hong Kong's major infrastructure projects have always possessed the features of internationalisation, with many major infrastructures jointly designed and constructed by leading local and global engineering firms in the past. He hoped that the department would adopt a "technological innovation" and "policy innovation" dual-innovation mindset and approach to attract more Mainland enterprises to participate in the implementation of Hong Kong's infrastructure projects, thereby introducing advanced and innovative construction technologies as well as new construction materials and machineries from the Mainland, while integrating the unique experience of the local engineering talent in responding to environmental challenges in Hong Kong, allowing the engineering sectors on the Mainland and in Hong Kong to jointly capitalise on their respective strengths and join hands to lead the development of Hong Kong's engineering technology to new heights, thus achieving the goal of further shortening construction times and reducing construction costs.

HyD holds sharing session on Hong Kong's major transport infrastructure projects to exchange innovative engineering experiences with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HyD holds sharing session on Hong Kong's major transport infrastructure projects to exchange innovative engineering experiences with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HyD holds sharing session on Hong Kong's major transport infrastructure projects to exchange innovative engineering experiences with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Government announces updates on follow-up work on Tai Po fire

The three task forces set up by the Government for the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po - the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements - are making full efforts to follow up on the support, relief, and investigation work related to the incident. Details are as follows:

Financial and welfare support

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For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, established by the Government, donations received are about $3.7 billion as of noon today (December 21). With the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has now reached around $4 billion. The fund will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.

Accommodation support

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Currently, there is still a supply of more than 1 000 units that can provide affected residents with longer-term accommodation. The transitional housing and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) projects in different districts can altogether provide around 500 units at the moment. Moreover, Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun and Runway 1331 at Kai Tak can provide a supply of around 900 units.

As of this morning, a total of 572 residents are staying in hotel rooms through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, and 563 residents are staying in youth hostels/camps. Another 3 513 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau, units from the HKHS or Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun.

The Transport Department (TD) has been steering public transport operators (PTOs) to enhance services of franchised buses, green minibuses and residents' services (RS) by deploying additional vehicles and manpower to support residents affected by the fire who have been admitted into transitional housing in various districts, facilitating transfers to other services to and from different districts. Among them, an additional RS will be introduced connecting CONCORDIA Tsat Sing Kong and CONCORDIA Sheung Yue River in Yuen Long and Tai Po Market Station. The TD will closely co-ordinate with operating organisations of transitional housing projects concerned and PTOs to cater for residents' commuting needs.

Relief supplies and donations

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The supplies donation online platform, established by the Government and the information technology sector, continues to operate, facilitating the registration of supplies donations from organisations and the public. The Government has so far received around 2 000 registrations, of which approximately 30 per cent were submitted by organisations, whereas the others were contributed by the public. The various registered donation items include food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, bedding, and electrical appliances. The Government is actively assessing residents' actual needs through the relevant policy bureau, government departments, and service organisations for the matching of donated supplies in order to distribute appropriate items in phases to places in need. So far, over 29 000 donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. The matching and distribution of supplies will continue.

Investigation and regulation

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Relevant policy bureaux and departments continue to follow up on the fire investigation and regulatory efforts.

Source: AI-found images