Nominations Open for Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development 2026 with Deadline on May 18

Nominations for Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development 2026 to close on May 18

Nominations for the Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development 2026 (the Award) organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will close on May 18. Interested developer, management company, design company, owners' organisation, landscape or horticultural company of the property should grasp the opportunity to submit nomination, with prior consent from the owners' representative group of the property concerned. Entry to the competition is free of charge.

The biennial Award is one of the LCSD's major activities to promote greening. It aims at commending private property developments that excel in landscape design and horticultural maintenance. The Award also aims to drive sustained environmental improvements in private property developments by encouraging private bodies to incorporate more high-quality green elements into the planning and management of horticultural projects of such developments.

Entries must be properties and facilities located within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The landscape and green areas of the entries must be for communal use or accessible to the public or residents. The competition is divided into six categories, including the Subsidised Sale Housing category, which is newly introduced this year. Please visit the LCSD's website www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/green/property/2026/index.html for details, and download the prospectus and nomination form.

Each category features a Gold Award, Merit Award(s) and Environmental Efficiency Award(s). Additionally, a Supreme Gold Award has been introduced this year and will be presented to the most outstanding entry among all Gold Award winners.

Completed nomination forms together with all necessary documents must reach the Secretariat of the Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development 2026 on or before May 18 through email, by post or in person. For enquiries, please call 2601 8026.

The Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development 2026 is organised by the LCSD and co-organised by the Home Affairs Department, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, the Institute of Horticulture (Hong Kong), the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, the Professional Green Building Council, the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies and the Hong Kong Green Building Council.

Photo source: lcsd.gov.hk

Appointment of Director of Information Services announced

The Government announced today (May 4) that Mr John Tse Chun-chung will take up the appointment as Director of Information Services on May 5, 2026, following an open-cum-in-service recruitment exercise.

Commenting on the appointment of Mr Tse, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said, "Mr Tse has extensive experience in public administration, is highly skilled in handling media and public relations, and possesses outstanding leadership and management capabilities. I am confident that under his leadership, the Information Services Department will strive to promote public understanding of government policies and positions, and tell the world about the good stories of Hong Kong."

Mr Tse joined the Government in 1999 and served in various positions both at frontlinedepartment and policy bureau. He was seconded to the Chief Executive's Office under civil service appointment terms to serve as the Communications Secretary in August 2022, and has been serving as Information Co-ordinator since June 2024. In February 2026, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau conducted a selection process, including an open-cum-in-service recruitment exercise, for the post of Director of Information Services. Following the selection process, Mr Tse has been identified as the most suitable candidate. The Government appointed Mr Tse as the Director of Information Services under the civil service appointment terms, effective on May 5.

Appointment of Director of Information Services announced Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases