HK's Liveability A Priority

Financial Secretary Paul Chan

Making Hong Kong an even more liveable city is always high on our agenda.

Of course, enhancing a city's liveability is a continuing, ever-evolving challenge for government, as well as the design industry. Especially in a city like Hong Kong where land resources are so limited.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government produced, after considerable consultation, its Smart City Blueprint in December last year. It maps out development plans for the next five years to enhance the effectiveness of city management and improve people's quality of living and Hong Kong's attractiveness and sustainability by making use of innovation and technology.

This week's Knowledge of Design Week (KODW) will, no doubt, shed bright light on design's critical role in creating a liveable city. And I look forward to hearing more from the forums and workshops in the coming three days.

I know, for example, that KODW will feature three speakers from Melbourne, Australia. I'm sure they will share their thoughts on why Melbourne has been named the World's Most Liveable City – and for the past seven years in a row – in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Report.

In any case, we are committed to ensuring that Hong Kong is as desirable a city to live in as it is to work in.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan made these remarks at the Knowledge of Design Week 2018 opening ceremony on June 13.