A ground-breaking ceremony yesterday heralded the start of a construction job that will bring the city's graft-busting operations under one roof for the first time.
Independent Commission Against Corruption Commissioner Raymond Wong Hung-chiu said the ceremony for the agency's 25-storey headquarters 'marks the government's determination in carrying out its anti-corruption work'.
With a floor area of 54,000 square metres, the building in North Point will replace offices and training centres in buildings such as the Murray Road Car Park Building and Fairmont House where the ICAC has operated for more than 30 years.
Mr Wong said the ICAC had never had a centralised headquarters since it was formed in 1974.
'The current operation is not ideal in terms of resource allocation and ease of operation,' Mr Wong said.
Principal Investigator Ng Hung-cheung said the new building would equip the watchdog with powerful, hi-tech systems to boost training and allow it to better handle complicated cases. Training facilities will include an indoor shooting range with moving and static targets, a mock court and two mock interview rooms.