Following is a question by the Hon Abraham Shek and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (April 30) :
Question:
Regarding the local construction industry's participation in overseas construction projects, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has promoted the local construction industry in overseas communities through the Hong Kong Government's overseas offices, the Trade Development Council or other channels, with a view to facilitating the industry's entry into the overseas markets; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) it has kept a watch on the local construction industry's participation in bidding for overseas construction projects, and provided market information and other kinds of assistance to the local construction industry in this regard; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) it plans to assist the local construction industry in taking part in the reconstruction of Iraq when the war between the United States and Iraq is over?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (ETWB) has all along been committed to encouraging and facilitating overseas market development by enterprises and personnel (including contractors, engineering consultants and construction-related professionals) in the local construction industry. In recent years, the construction boom in the Mainland has prompted many local construction enterprises to look for business opportunities there. As such the various tasks carried out by this Bureau on promoting the local construction industry are mainly geared towards this direction. In this regard, the ETWB, in association with the Mainland authorities concerned and trade associations and professional bodies of both places, has regularly organised large-scale seminars in, and arranged study visits to, different places in the Mainland in order to actively assist our local construction industry in entering the Mainland market and in the hope of achieving the following objectives:
* To enable the local construction industry to keep in touch with the Mainland counterparts, especially the top government officials in the Mainland so that it can keep abreast of the latest market information, thereby laying the foundation for co-operation.
* To enable the local construction industry to gain a better understanding of the systems and regulations governing the construction industry in the Mainland and thereby adapt itself to the business environment there more easily.
* To promote in the Mainland the expertise and technology of the local construction industry so that it will stand a better chance of participating in the construction projects there.
* To enhance co-operation between professionals in the construction and construction-related fields and those in other related fields (e.g. legal and banking) so as to introduce comprehensive construction services to the Mainland.
In conjunction with the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing (BJO) and the Trade Development Council (TDC), we have also organised large-scale events to promote business opportunities in major Mainland cities from time to time in order to enhance the communication between the construction industries of Hong Kong and the Mainland and explore opportunities for co-operation. Besides, we have invited mainland officials to Hong Kong to brief the local industry on the latest investment situation of the Mainland construction market and newly introduced policies and regulations. In addition, the BJO has showcased Hong Kong's achievements in infrastructure and the strengths of our local construction industry in its promotion activities.
Concurrently, the Hong Kong Government and the TDC have been promoting Hong Kong's infrastructure industry in overseas countries in different ways, including the following:
* providing various promotion platforms, such as seminars, conferences and exhibitions, to promote the strengths of the local infrastructure industry;
* facilitating business partnerships between Hong Kong and their mainland/overseas counterparts through various matching and networking activities; and
* disseminating the relevant market information regularly through the Council's trade portal "tdctrade.com".
The major promotion activities of the TDC include holding the annual Hong Kong infrastructure and real estate service expositions in major Mainland cities, regularly inviting principal Mainland officials to Hong Kong to brief on infrastructure projects and business opportunities related to the Beijing Olympics, co-organising seminars on business opportunities with development aid organisations (e.g. the World Bank and Asian Development Bank), organising business missions to overseas countries and the Mainland for the infrastructure industry, and publishing the Hong Kong Infrastructure Services Directory and other promotional materials.
To further enhance the opportunities for local construction professionals to practise in the Mainland, the ETWB sent a delegation consisting of representatives of local professional bodies concerned to Beijing at the end of March this year to discuss the issue of mutual recognition of professional qualifications with the relevant Mainland authorities and professional bodies. At the meeting, the professional bodies of both places agreed to form specific working groups to follow up the issue. While mutual recognition of professional qualifications is an internal affair of the relevant professional bodies, the ETWB will play a facilitating role and provide assistance where necessary.
(b) As regards providing market information and keeping watch on overseas construction projects, we are also focusing on the Mainland market. The ETWB has been liaising closely with the BJO to collect the latest information on Mainland policies and regulations, investment and trade fairs, Beijing Olympics projects opened for tender, etc. and release it to the industry.
The TDC has also set up a China Infrastructure Project News website (http://chinainfra.tdctrade.com/) to provide the latest information on infrastructure projects in Mainland cities. The TDC will review the contents and scope of the website if necessary to cater for the needs of the industry.
(c) Owing to such factors as the unstable political climate in Iraq and geographical constraints, we have not received from the industry any request to take part in the reconstruction of Iraq when the war between the United States and Iraq is over. If the local industry expresses such an request in the future, we will consider ways to co-ordinate the efforts of the government departments concerned, the TDC and other organisations in providing assistance to the industry.
End/Wednesday, April 30, 2003
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