Housing Bureau and HKU Sign MOU on Innovative Technological Research and Applications for Public Housing Developments in Hong Kong

Housing Bureau and HKU sign MOU on innovative technological research and applications for public housing developments in Hong Kong

The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, and the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Xiang Zhang, have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today (March 31) to establish a co-operation framework for advancing research and practical applications of cutting-edge construction technologies in public housing projects. This partnership will leverage the research prowess of a global top university alongside the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA)'s full-cycle functions - from planning and design through construction and operations management to maintenance - and its comprehensive practical scenarios, bringing world-class innovations to local construction practices to pioneer industry leadership and accelerate Hong Kong's construction sector toward higher quality, more intelligent, and sustainable practices.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ms Ho said that the Housing Bureau (HB) is pleased to sign the MOU with the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the top university in Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings and ranked 11th in the QS World University Rankings. The HB and the HKHA have consistently pursued the goals of "enhancing speed, quantity, quality, and efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring safety", actively introducing innovative construction technologies. Public housing projects, with their vast supplies, standardised designs, and highly repetitive nature offer ideal scenarios for real-world testing and large-scale application of new technologies. Moreover, the HKHA's full-cycle sustainable functions spanning planning, design, construction, community development, estate management, maintenance, and redevelopment provide a solid foundation with complete practical scenarios and data accumulation for comprehensive, cross-disciplinary research collaboration with HKU.

Addressing the ceremony, Professor Zhang remarked that HKU has many researchers across faculties, departments, centres and labs conducting top-notch innovative research applicable to public housing development. The establishment of the Hong Kong Branch of the National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction at HKU in October 2024 underscores its strength in digital construction. He said that the MOU marks a new milestone in interdisciplinary collaboration to construct high-quality public housing faster and safer to meet pressing demand.

The HB and the HKHA have been committed to enhance speed, quantity, quality, and efficiency, reducing costs and to ensure safety levels of public housing construction while actively adopting innovative construction technologies such as Modular Integrated Construction (MiC), digital twins, and AI applications. The HKHA has been collaborating with the iLab and the Department of Real Estate and Construction of HKU in the past with many useful applications. One of its collaborative projects, Agit - Agentic Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) System for Cross-border MiC Logistics has won a Gold Medal at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, in Geneva, Switzerland in March this year, and the Smart Mobility Best Use of AI Award of the Hong Kong ICT Awards organised by the Digital Policy Office in last November. This project uses an integration of i-Core sensors affixed to MiC modules for real-time transport and vibration monitoring with AI multi-agent reinforcement learning that enables dynamic, real-time scheduling, accurate estimated time of arrival predictions, and proactive vibration alerts to ensure just-in-time, orderly, and safe MiC delivery.

Looking ahead, the HB, HKHA, and HKU will actively explore more collaboration opportunities, widely applying innovative research outcomes to public housing planning, design, construction, and operations management, aspiring to extend them to private housing and related infrastructure projects to lead a comprehensive industry transformation toward high-end, intelligent, and green low-carbon development.

The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho (first row, left), and the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Xiang Zhang (first row, right), sign a Memorandum of Understanding today (March 31) to establish a co-operation framework for promoting research and the practical application of innovative construction technologies in public housing development, thereby leading Hong Kong's construction industry to accelerate its transformation towards high-quality, intelligent, and sustainable development. Photo shows the Under Secretary for Housing, Mr Victor Tai (second row, sixth left), Legislative Council members Ms Judy Chan (second row, fifth left); Mr Chau Siu-chung (third row, second left); Mr Duncan Chiu (third row, third left); Ms Elizabeth Quat (third row, fourth left); Mr Dennis Leung (third row, fifth left); Mr Chan Hok-fung (third row, sixth left), and other guests at the signing ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho (left), and the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Xiang Zhang (right), sign a Memorandum of Understanding today (March 31) to establish a co-operation framework for promoting research and the practical application of innovative construction technologies in public housing development, thereby leading Hong Kong's construction industry to accelerate its transformation towards high-quality, intelligent, and sustainable development. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

ISRE 2.0 expected to conclude in April

The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) announced today (March 31) that the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions (ISRE) 2.0 is expected to conclude in April, having benefited more than 80 international exhibitions thus far.

A CEDB spokesman said that the convention and exhibition (C&E) industry plays a vital role in consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international trade centre. The Government has been supporting the development of the C&E industry through diverse measures. Following the allocation of $1.4 billion in 2023 to launch the original ISRE, the Government allocated an additional provision of $500 million to launch ISRE 2.0 in July last year, which received strong industry support and an overwhelming response. In addition to benefitting the C&E industry, the scheme has helped attract high-spending business visitors to Hong Kong, driving economic activities in related sectors such as accommodation, catering, retail and entertainment, thereby bringing positive benefits to the overall economy.

ISRE 2.0 provides venue rental incentives to attract new and recurrent international exhibitions of a large scale to Hong Kong. Having taken into account the operational experience of the original scheme, ISRE 2.0 has refined the relevant arrangements by focusing on international exhibitions, benefitting more eligible exhibitions by adjusting the funding cap, and offering organisers more venue options (including the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, AsiaWorld-Expo, Central Harbourfront Event Space, and West Kowloon Cultural District).

According to the application guide promulgated last year, ISRE 2.0 will conclude upon exhaustion of funds. The CEDB has also explained the relevant arrangements to the industry on various occasions and maintained close communication with venue operators. Based on the latest spending position and projection, the fund under ISRE 2.0 is expected to be exhausted by April. The CEDB has earlier encouraged venue operators to proactively communicate with relevant organisers to enable the industry to make necessary preparations for the scheme's conclusion.

The spokesman continued, "Since 2020, the Government has allocated over $3.1 billion to implement various support measures for the C&E industry, including the Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme under the Anti-epidemic Fund, the original ISRE, and ISRE 2.0, successfully assisting the industry to cope with the epidemic, promoting post-epidemic recovery and injecting momentum to the sustainable development of the industry."

The Government will continue to strongly support the development of the C&E industry in Hong Kong. As recently announced in the 2026-27 Budget, the Government will earmark $100 million for attracting large-scale international exhibitions with new elements to Hong Kong through collaborating with relevant organisations on a pilot basis, with a view to developing Hong Kong into the first-choice platform for showcasing Mainland and international brands, while attracting high-spending business visitors to Hong Kong and driving high value-added economic activities. The CEDB is formulating the relevant arrangements and implementation details.

The spokesman expressed gratitude to the C&E industry for its continued support and co-operation with the Government in implementing various measures to promote the industry's development, and looked forward to close collaboration with the industry to drive innovation, attract more top-tier international exhibitions to Hong Kong, and jointly tap into new economic growth opportunities.

Source: AI-found images