Amendment to levy rate under Construction Industry Council Ordinance (Chapter 587)

The Legislative Council yesterday (July 17) passed a resolution to raise the levy rate under the Construction Industry Council Ordinance (CICO) (Chapter 587) from 0.4 per cent of the value of the construction operations concerned to 0.5 per cent. The resolution will be published in the Gazette on July 20 and will come into effect on August 20. Construction operations that have commenced or for which a tender has been submitted before this date will not be affected.

A spokesman for the Development Bureau said that the Construction Industry Council (CIC) was established in February 2007 under the CICO with the aim of forging a consensus on long-term strategic issues concerning the local construction industry, conveying the industry's needs and aspirations to the Government and providing a communication channel for the Government to solicit advice on construction-related matters. Under the CICO a contractor is liable to pay a levy to the CIC for any construction operations in Hong Kong with a total value exceeding $1 million.

Facing various challenges such as the commencement of major infrastructure projects, an ageing construction workforce and skills mismatches, the CIC continues to undertake various new initiatives to attract more new blood to join the construction industry and to nurture a quality construction team, so as to support the sustainable and long-term development of the industry. Having studied the CIC's financial position and proposals, and capitalising on the proposed reduction of the levy rate by 0.1 per cent to 0.15 per cent under the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance, the Government proposes to increase the levy rate under the CICO with the overall levy rate remaining unchanged.

Some of the additional resources received following the increase in the levy rate under the CICO will be used to study measures to improve the health and welfare of construction workers and construction safety.

Ends/Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Issued at HKT 00:40

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