Hong Kong to Host the UITP Summit in 2028

Hong Kong will host the UITP Summit in 2028, marking the first time the event will take place in the Asia-Pacific region.

UITP, Photo source: uitp.org

Following a competitive selection process and extensive deliberations by the UITP Executive Board, Hong Kong has been confirmed as the host city, with MTR Corporation serving as the local host organisation.

MTR Corporation, Photo by Bastille Post

The UITP Summit is the leading global event for public transport, bringing together thousands of professionals from across the sector, including operators, authorities, industry suppliers and policy makers from more than 100 countries. In 2028, that international community will gather in one of the world’s most recognised public transport cities.

A Global Summit Arrives in Asia-Pacific
Hong Kong’s selection reflects both the strength of its public transport system and the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region in shaping the future of sustainable urban mobility.

Public transport accounts for around 90% of daily journeys in Hong Kong. With rail as the backbone of its network, the city has developed a highly efficient and integrated system that connects communities, supports economic activity and contributes to long-term sustainability.

Hosting the Summit in 2028 provides an opportunity to showcase this model to a global audience, while facilitating discussion on the sector’s most pressing priorities, from technological innovation and asset management to customer experience and climate resilience.

The public transport in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post

Partnership with MTR Corporation
MTR Corporation has been a UITP member since 1990 and has contributed actively to the association’s committees, working groups and knowledge exchange initiatives.

The organisation has also hosted UITP Asia-Pacific conferences and has received UITP recognition for its work in areas including innovation and operational excellence.

As host organisation, MTR will work closely with UITP, local authorities and industry partners to deliver a Summit that reflects both Hong Kong’s public transport achievements and the global ambitions of the sector.

The 2028 edition will also provide an opportunity to highlight the wider Greater Bay Area and its role as a rapidly developing hub for innovation, connectivity and integrated urban mobility.

MTR Corporation, Photo by Bastille Post

The Road to 2028
Under UITP’s annual Summit format, the global public transport community meets each year in different regions of the world. As preparations continue for the 2026 edition in Dubai, and ahead of the return to Hamburg in 2027, the confirmation of Hong Kong for 2028 provides clarity on the Summit’s continued global rotation.

Each edition of the Summit offers a platform for international collaboration, knowledge exchange and industry leadership. In 2028, Hong Kong will welcome that conversation to the Asia-Pacific region for the first time.

Over the coming years, detailed preparations will begin in close cooperation with partners across the city. The 2028 Summit will build on the strong foundations of previous editions while highlighting the role of public transport in supporting inclusive growth, innovation and sustainable urban development.

Walk into a Zhengzhou Metro station and a different scene from previous days will greet you. Corners that once sat empty now house breakfast stalls, coffee shops, and convenience stores. Behind this shift is MTR Corporation’s push to "export" its decades of station retail experience to the Mainland.

Aaron Lam, Senior Manager of MTR Corporation and a member of its Mainland Station Commercial Business Development team, noted in an exclusive interview with Bastille Post that MTR has successfully exported its "Secondary Development" model to the Mainland, upgrading existing station spaces in cities including Chengdu and Zhengzhou. The move has driven average rents up by more than threefold, and MTR has signed cooperation intentions with Qingdao, Chongqing and Hangzhou, etc.

Aaron Lam, Senior Manager of MTR Corporation and a member of its Mainland Station Commercial Business Development team. Photo by Bastille Post

As a vibrant modern metropolis, Chengdu has a resident population exceeding 21 million and a rail transit network ranking fourth nationwide, handling up to 7 million passenger trips a day. Yet the commercial value of its metro stations had long gone untapped. "In many Mainland cities, rail transit is primarily viewed as a public service and transport function, so station interiors often lack planning for retail units or commercial space," Aaron said.

Shenxianshu Station on the Chengdu Metro before its "Secondary Development." Photo source: MTR

Shenxianshu Station on the Chengdu Metro after its "Secondary Development." Photo source: MTR

Drawing on nearly 50 years of railway operations and more than 20 years of station retail management in Hong Kong, MTR brought its Secondary Development model to Chengdu. For Aaron, the starting point is MTR’s customer-centric approach to improving the passenger experience: "A journey isn’t necessarily just getting from point A to point B. It can also involve everyday needs, like buying something, charging a phone."

In 2020, MTR and Chengdu Rail Transit Group signed a cooperation agreement and established Chengdu Ronggang Commercial Development Company Limited, marking the start of station commercial reform on the Mainland. Without disrupting train operations, MTR upgraded existing station spaces, introduced water, power, and drainage facilities, and brought in suitable tenants.

Average rents for the first batch of "Secondary Development" shops in Chengdu have surged by more than threefold, with prime locations exceeding RMB 1,000 per square metre. Photo source: MTR

Aaron noted that with the widespread adoption of mobile payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, surplus physical ticket machines could be removed, freeing up more space for shops. He described the entire process as "very meaningful," since whether it is a breakfast grabbed on the commute, a snack on the way home, or a coffee while waiting for a train, "all of it can make what used to be cold, functional passageways warmer and more convenient."

By 2026, Chengdu Ronggang had completed Secondary Development work across 16 stations and 44 shops in Chengdu. The arrival of pizza chain BOBO Pizza was particularly emblematic. MTR’s team not only installed water and drainage pipes to allow freshly baked pizza to be made inside a metro station, but also aligned baking schedules with train arrival frequencies, guiding the shop to pre-bake ahead of peak passenger flows to achieve a "grab-and-go" model. Within months of opening, passenger traffic at the shop rose by 20–30%, and revenue jumped by more than 30%.

BOBO Pizza. Photo source: online image

Building on the Chengdu results, Aaron and his team have replicated the model in Zhengzhou and are seeking cooperation with Qingdao, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing. Having achieved a "zero to one" breakthrough in Chengdu, he hopes to extend the model to more cities within three to five years, completing the "one to N" expansion.

Aaron was appointed Deputy General Manager of Chengdu Ronggang Commercial Development Company Limited in 2025. Photo source: MTR

For Aaron, Secondary Development is not only about giving idle station space new commercial value, but also about stepping outside his comfort zone and revaluing himself. After secondary school in the UK and a Master in Civil Engineering from a leading university, Aaron joined MTR in 2011. For his first seven years, he focused on engineering, working on signature projects including the design of the West Kowloon Station's Sky Corridor and the LOHAS Park property development. During that time, the corporation arranged for him to learn about metro station operations, ride along with train crews, plan schedules, and even handle procurement, helping him gradually build a whole-system view of railway operations.

During his trainee engineer training, Aaron participated in the design and construction of the West Kowloon Station's Sky Corridor. Photo source: MTR

In 2018, Aaron reached his first career turning point. Under MTR’s training and promotion mechanisms, he moved from engineering into a station retail management role, taking charge of in-station rental, interior fitting-out works and new station openings. Nevertheless, switching tracks was not easy for him at first.

As an engineer who by habit follows procedure, Aaron was used to regarding engineering as about steps and logic. "When we build a project, we have to finish the first floor before the second and the third," he said. But commercial negotiations, by contrast, are full of variables. Different brands put wildly different values on the same shop unit. It was these encounters with "no standard answer" that honed his flexible commercial thinking step by step.

Aaron Lam. Photo source: MTR

He was later posted to Mainland project teams in Beijing, Chengdu and Zhengzhou, where the working environment changed fundamentally. In Hong Kong, he recalled, MTR departments are all "on the same side." In Chengdu, station operations and services are handled by Chengdu Metro, with MTR responsible only for station commercial business. "The people I communicate with shifted from internal colleagues to partners, and both the reporting lines and the logic of collaboration had to be re-adapted."

Despite the cross-sector move, Aaron stressed that he never left engineering behind. "When I took part in new line construction in Chengdu, I still drew on my engineering background in station and shop planning." When communicating with the Chengdu Metro team, he explained that his technical knowledge helped them understand the feasibility of facility adjustments: "For example, where drainage could go, where equipment could be repositioned," strengthening confidence and cooperation between the two sides.

As of the first half of 2026, MTR has been authorized to operate the commercial resources of over 40 metro lines and more than 800 stations in the Mainland, managing over 1,000 station shops. Photo source: MTR

Looking back on 15 years of his career, Aaron reflected: "Every time I step into something new, I’m nervous, but every step is paving the way for the next." His advice to Hong Kong’s young people is to make good use of their trilingual abilities (Chinese, Cantonese, and English) and their unique advantage of bridging Eastern and Western cultures, to venture boldly into new fields and to apply their strengths on a wider stage.