It has been four years since Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang outlined plans for 10 major infrastructure projects in the city. As expected, the proposed public works - mostly scheduled for completion by around 2020 - have spurred jobs in related industries, particularly in property and construction.
Tsang's objectives were to enhance the city's transportation network and improve links with the neighbouring regions of Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta. But more importantly, the projects - unveiled at the height of the global financial crisis - were aimed at boosting the economy.
'Both employment opportunities and wages will increase during the construction stage, and, upon completion, the infrastructure projects will boost economic activities and improve the living environment,' Tsang said in his 2007-08 policy address.
The projects were expected to generate 250,000 jobs. These positions will go beyond the usual construction jobs and will demand expertise needed to meet specialised requirements, such as those for the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD).
'The core art and cultural facilities that we are building is something that Hong Kong has never built for more than 20 years. We have to make sure that we can build them properly,' Chan Man-wai, executive director for project delivery at the WKCD Authority, said at the 2012 Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Conference held in Hong Kong on March 2.
Chan added that some of the buildings at the WKCD may not be big but they are very specialised. So the authority is considering different arrangements to involve consultants in theatre and lighting, acoustics, project management, art and culture development, infrastructure architects, engineers and landscape architects.