The Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Works), Mr Lo Yiu-ching, will lead a 148-member high-level delegation to attend a construction-related conference in Xian tomorrow (September 20).
The delegation includes developers, contractors, consultants, academics, professionals from the engineering, finance and legal sectors as well as representatives of private enterprises related to the real estate sector.
The three-day conference, with the main theme on "Construction Economics, Real Estate and Urban Disaster Prevention", is an annual event jointly organised by the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau, the Ministry of Construction, and this time, also with the Xian Municipal Government.
The conference is aimed at promoting the exchange in construction technology and expertise, and enhancing the co-operation and business opportunities between the construction industries in the Mainland and Hong Kong.
The topics to be discussed in the three sessions of the conference include urban safety and disaster prevention; financing, economic analysis and risk management in construction; and development of real estate, in particular energy-efficient and land-saving residential housing.
The conference is the largest of its kind organised by the Bureau since the implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), with 148 participants from Hong Kong and 161 from the Mainland.
The Hong Kong delegation will table 50 technical papers, while the Mainland will table 27. Among the 77 papers, eight from each side will be presented in the conference.
Papers on "Tai Hang Tung Storage Scheme and Kai Tak Transfer Scheme for solving urban flooding problem in Mong Kok, West Kowloon, Hong Kong"; "Reducing landslide risk by public education - 'Safer Living - Reducing Natural Disasters' Campaign"; and "the new EMSD Headquarters building - re-birth of an abandoned building" will be presented by officers from the Drainage Services Department; Civil Engineering and Development Department; and Architectural Services Department respectively.
Upon completion of the conference on September 22, Mr Lo Yiu-ching will lead 20 members of the Hong Kong delegation on a study mission to Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, where they can see for themselves the latest economic, town planning, infrastructural and real estate development. They will also explore opportunities for business co-operation in these areas between the two sides.
Ends/Monday, September 19, 2005
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