Page 19 - URA Annual Report 2020-21

In order to conduct the freezing surveys required for the launch of redevelopment projects at Shantung Street/Thistle Street (YTM-012) in Mong Kok and To Kwa Wan Road/Wing Kwong Street (KC-016), we proactively developed the Health Code 2.0 App so as to reduce the risk of our staff accessing buildings with potential transmission risk by sending out alerts to individual staff. A feature was added to allow the scanning of the Government’s LeaveHomeSafe QR code at relevant venues to enhance the infection control of our survey staff. As a result, the surveys were completed smoothly and the two redevelopment projects were launched according to schedule.
In addition, smart and intelligent technologies are being deployed especially in relation to the development of underground spaces, underground parking, and the provision of infrastructure for the districts. Our goal in the long term is to create ‘smart districts’ and ‘intelligent communities’ in all our future projects.
Digital platform to boost self-initiated learning
Facilitated by the Global Positioning System, the ‘Health Code 2.0’ mobile application alerts URA staff on buildings with risks of confirmed COVID-19 cases through mobile notifications.
A professional and elite team of employees is the cornerstone on which the URA can continuously fulfil its mission of urban renewal. In the past year, we invested additional resources in employee training, offering our staff more than 16,000 man-hours of training with a focus on improving their proficiency in artificial intelligence, big data processing and analysis, geo-information systems and building information modelling. As regards URIS training, over 70 percent of URA staff have completed the relevant foundation courses, preparing them for the new urban renewal approach through technology and digital means.
In June 2020, we launched our first one-stop online learning platform, which allows staff to choose courses and study times appropriate to their own interests and learning needs, and heralds a new approach of ‘self-initiated learning’. Unaffected by social distancing restrictions, this online platform has been able to provide more than 100 online training courses so far, with more than 95% of our staff having participated and some 4,000 man- hours of training being completed in total.
We will continue to optimise the training system by increasing the types and scale of training courses available in line with the needs of our employees in different professional fields. We will also offer them assistance in acquiring and applying new knowledge through continuous learning, so that urban renewal projects can reach new levels of effectiveness and sustainability.
Our achievements over the past year are owed to the collective efforts of the entire URA team. I wish to thank the Chairman and members of the Board of the URA, who have been tirelessly leading us through the challenges of the pandemic by providing valuable guidance on business strategies, work policies, and daily project implementation and operations. My sincere gratitude also extends to my colleagues in various departments for their hard work and perseverance. Their positive attitude and flexible approaches have enabled the process of urban renewal to maintain steady progress under the ‘new normal’.
While celebrating our 20th Anniversary in 2021/22, we must also get well prepared for future urban renewal goals in the next two decades and beyond. In the coming few years, the URA’s business scale will continue to grow encompassing large-scale planning of hundreds of hectares of land in old districts, from which major feasible redevelopment projects will be selected. Critically, sufficient financial reserves will be needed for the huge acquisition and construction expenses required for project completion.
To realise this ambitious goal, the URA is formulating a robust and flexible financial system for preparing different financial plans and schemes. We are also actively studying new planning tools and their potential application to break through the restrictions on land development in old districts so that land use can be optimised. Going forward, the URA will need to amass substantive funding and land reserves to sustain our urban renewal mission and turn Hong Kong into a smart and liveable city fit for the 21st century.
Ir WAI Chi-sing, GBS, JP, FHKEng Managing Director
31 July 2021
URA ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21 15
Managing Director’s Statement Operating Review Corporate Sustainability Management Discussion and Analysis Projects at a Glance Corporate Governance