Hong Kong Housing Secretary Winnie Ho Visits Paris to Explore Sustainable Housing Innovations.

2025-05-20 13:04 Last Updated At：13:18

S for Housing commences visit to Paris

The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, began her visit to Paris, France, yesterday (May 19, Paris time).

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S for Housing commences visit to Paris Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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S for Housing commences visit to Paris Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

In the morning, Ms Ho visited a social housing project which is undergoing renovation and will be upgraded into an energy saving and environmentally friendly building. She learned about the city's ways to minimise impacts of the works on the residents while they remain in place during the renovation. During the visit, Ms Ho shared the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA)'s experience in redeveloping aged public housing estates. This included conducting detailed studies and listening carefully to stakeholders' views through diversified means to forge a consensus and formulate the most suitable and cost-effective redevelopment plans to ensure that the needs of affected residents are catered for, while improving the environment of the public housing estates and neighbourhood. Furthermore, to enhance the sense of well-being of the residents, the Housing Bureau (HB) and the HKHA launched a resident-oriented "Well-being design" guide last year. It serves as a reference for the future design of new public housing estates and the improvement works of existing estates to create a more comfortable and inclusive estate environment.

She visited a zero carbon district in Paris, Îlot Fertile, in the afternoon.Îlot Fertile is a composite development project with abundant green space, integrating social housing, office, commercial, retail, hostels and more. Renewable energy systems and innovative construction technologies are adopted during the construction to implement low-carbon building initiatives and enhance energy efficiency in buildings.

Ms Ho said that air ventilation assessments and microclimate studies are carried out for the HKHA's new public housing developments to enhance environmental performance in aspects such as wind environment, natural ventilation and natural light exposure in buildings. The HB and the HKHA have also been actively promoting the application of innovative construction technologies such as Modular Integrated Construction (MiC), Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MiMEP) and construction robotics. These help to enhance construction quality and efficiency, shorten construction time and greatly reduce material waste, making the construction more environment friendly. Hong Kong and Paris share the same vision in promoting energy saving and green buildings, and she hoped to strengthen relevant co-operation between the two cities.

Ms Ho visited the Construction Innovation Centre at the Bouygues Construction headquarters afterwards. She met with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bouygues Construction Group (the Group), Mr Pascal Minault, and Deputy CEO of the Group Mr Pierre-Éric Saint-André to exchange ideas on the latest smart building technologies, green building and sustainable urban development. Ms Ho said that Bouygues Construction and Dragages Hong Kong, headed by the Group, have established a presence in Hong Kong for many years, and have contributed in various infrastructure, government buildings and public housing projects. She looked forward to continued collaboration in driving the industry to usher in a new era of smart construction.

Ms Ho will continue her visit today (May 20, Paris time).

Civil Aviation Department Completes Successful Aeronautical Search and Rescue Exercise Near Lantau Island

CAD search and rescue exercise strengthens collaboration and responsiveness

The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) successfully completed a joint short-range Aeronautical Search and Rescue exercise today (January 12) in the waters near Mong Tung Wan on the Chi Ma Wan Peninsula, Lantau Island.

The exercise involved eight government departments and one search and rescue unit, namely CAD, the Government Flying Service (GFS), the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the Fire Services Department (FSD), the Marine Department (MD), the Civil Aid Service, the Auxiliary Medical Service and the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), and the Hong Kong Garrison of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (Garrison) respectively.

Today's exercise simulated a helicopter crashing into the sea near Mong Tung Wan on Lantau Island. With the concerted efforts of helicopters and vessels dispatched by the Garrison, the GFS, the HKPF, and the FSD, all three people on board were rescued. The exercise lasted one hour, mobilising around 100 personnel from the participating units.

A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Department said, "In accordance with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, CAD regularly organises Aeronautical Search and Rescue exercises to strengthen co-operation and co-ordination among relevant search and rescue units and promote technical exchanges. This is to ensure a rapid and effective response in the event of an emergency."

This Aeronautical Search and Rescue exercise is divided into two parts: a short-range search and rescue exercise conducted today in the waters near Mong Tung Wan on Lantau Island; and a long-range search and rescue exercise to be conducted tomorrow (January 13) in the South China Sea, approximately 50 nautical miles south of Hong Kong. CAD, together with the GFS, the MD, the Garrison, the Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, and the Guangdong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, will jointly deploy fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and ships to conduct the search and rescue tasks. The entire long-range exercise is expected to be completed in around three hours.

Hong Kong Housing Secretary Winnie Ho Visits Paris to Explore Sustainable Housing Innovations.

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