How failure to keep up with construction technology will hit Hong Kong hard in next decade
Industry professionals fear city cannot attract global talent if building sector does not change mindset
Hong Kong must be more aggressive in adopting the latest technology for its construction sector for the city to retain its competitive edge, according to one of the world’s biggest engineering firms.
While other cities, such as Singapore, have made building information modelling (BIM) mandatory, Hong Kong is only starting to open up to the technology, Aecom president for Asia-Pacific Sean Chiao said.
“Traditional design planning is no longer good enough to deal with the future,” he added. BIM is beneficial in improving project delivery, cost efficiency, design quality and construction site management.
Long-term gain of building information modelling is irrefutable
The technology uses digitised drawing tools to allow architects, engineers and contractors to work with the same 3D design files in a virtual environment, avoiding the need for repetitive and overlapping two-dimensional shop drawings – often still done with pen and paper.
“If Hong Kong doesn’t catch up quickly, it will taste the bitter fruit in probably five or 10 years,” Chiao said, adding that while it was still a “great city”, it could lose its competitiveness if it failed to continue attracting global talent.
Singapore, Britain and France now require all bidders for public-sector contracts to use BIM.