MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, President. To develop the economy and integrate into the overall development of the country, Hong Kong will launch a number of major development projects, including the projects of the Northern Metropolis and the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, requiring massive construction works in the future. However, construction costs in Hong Kong are extremely high. Simultaneous implementation of a number of major development projects at present will naturally further push up project costs, which is unfavourable to Hong Kong.
To avoid increasing the pressure on public finance, the Government has planned to follow the successful experience of the Third Runway of the airport to raise funds for development through public financing, thereby creating a win-win situation for all parties. As the funds come from the community, the Government has the responsibility to ensure that the projects are cost-effective. It must reduce the costs and expenditures as far as possible. I thank Mr LAU Kwok-fan for proposing today’s motion, which has facilitated in-depth discussion on this issue by the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong is well known in the world for its high construction costs. As shown by a survey, Hong Kong’s construction costs rank first in Asia and eighth globally. Society often attributes this to such factors as expensive construction materials and high wages. However, in Singapore, where the cost of living is higher than that in Hong Kong, its construction costs are on the contrary lower. For example, the construction cost of Singapore’s new Jewel Changi Airport complex, completed in 2019, was as low as HK$10 billion. Hence, the high construction costs in Hong Kong are not only about expensive materials and high wages, but also involve problems such as complicated approval procedures, as well as the lack of engineering staff, construction delays, etc. The Government should resolve these problems in a targeted manner.
According to a study conducted by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, there are indeed quite a number of problems in the works approval procedures in Hong Kong. In particular, when various departments are vetting a project or consulting other departments, they often work in their own way with a lack of coordination, resulting in delay of the project. For this reason, I suggest streamlining the downstream development process, which includes designating a government department to process the planning applications of building projects in a centralized manner within a specified time frame.
As a matter of fact, in recent years, the country has put forward a national reform of the construction project approval system to change the departments’ fragmented management to integrated management by the Government, thereby realizing centralization of the approval process, information and data, and regulation. Consequently, in 2021, the vetting and approval time was successfully reduced by nearly half, and it was estimated that more than RMB300 billion could be saved annually. Of course, the country’s model may not be completely suitable for Hong Kong, but it is still worthy of our study and reference.
Besides, the lack of engineering staff will directly slow down the works progress. According to the figures of the Construction Industry Council, it is estimated that by 2027, the shortage of engineers in various disciplines will reach 6 500, whereas that of skilled and semi-skilled workers will reach 40 000. This is extremely unfavourable to the implementation of the various development projects, for which the Government must work out a solution. At present, the Development Bureau has launched new Sector-specific Labour Importation Schemes, under which the construction sector is provided with a quota of 12 000. In addition, professional engineers, the Government and the industry all wish to strengthen local training while striving for the importation of talents.
However, when various development projects commence progressively in the next few years, the situation of manpower shortage will worsen. The Government must come up with a contingency plan in advance. With continuous advancement of construction technologies in recent years, the Government can set up a task force to study the introduction of the latest construction method and process, and formulate guidelines and standards for the industry, so as to reduce manpower demand and minimize the possibility of project delay.
President, I believe we all remember that last year, the Legislative Council passed the Bill to streamline the land production procedures, reducing the time required for turning “primitive land” into “spade-ready sites” for typical projects from 6 years to 4 years, and that for large-scale projects from 13 years to 7 years. In fact, although this Bill is a milestone in resolving the deep-rooted conflicts in Hong Kong, it does not mean that all the problems have been solved, especially the problems of works projects under debate today. The Government must enhance the development efficiency on all fronts and expedite the implementation of the various major projects. Only then will Hong Kong have a better tomorrow.
Thank you, President.