Hong Kong to encourage use of pre-made housing with more private sector incentives
- Development minister Bernadette Linn says ‘modular integrated construction’ method may help to offset predicted manpower shortfall for building sector
- ‘We envision it can provide impetus to the private sector if the government can take on a leading role, especially when we are lacking construction labour,’ she adds
Hong Kong authorities will offer more incentives to the private sector to encourage the use of a prefabrication construction technique and will also explore investing in supply chains, amid concerns from lawmakers that the process is suffering from limited uptake.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Tuesday that only 69 public projects and two private initiatives had adopted the “modular integrated construction” (MiC) technique since authorities introduced it in 2018.
The method employs free-standing, integrated modules from a mainland Chinese factory that undergo quality inspections before being installed at the project site.
Linn said the technique could save manpower as the construction process largely took place in factories rather than at the project site, noting Hong Kong expected to record a manpower shortage of more than 40,000 workers in 2027.
The minister also sought to address concerns from a legislator about the lack of incentives concerning old land lots to encourage the private sector to adopt the method, stressing the government would “respond positively”.