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The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, made a presentation at a public lecture in Singapore today (May 17) on the efforts and achievements of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to preserve and revitalise Hong Kong's historic buildings in the past five years. The lecture was jointly organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and attended by more than 200 participants from the public and private sectors as well as academia.
In her presentation entitled "Hong Kong's Heritage Conservation: A Paradigm Shift", Mrs Lam discussed the application of the heritage conservation policy adopted in 2007 and introduced major projects in Hong Kong, including Conserving Central, and the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme. She also highlighted the need to respect private property rights in dealing with privately owned historic buildings, quoting the use of land exchange to preserve the historic mansion King Yin Lei.
Mrs Lam is visiting Singapore on May 17 and 18 on the invitation of the Singapore Government.
This morning, Mrs Lam met with Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Ms Grace Fu, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Mr Ng Lang. She also toured the Singapore City Gallery at the Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre to understand the urban renewal work in Singapore.
She also visited the Civil Service College of Singapore. The college provides a comprehensive suite of programmes in the areas of leadership, policy development and public administration for public service officers in Singapore.
Tomorrow morning (May 18), Mrs Lam will meet with the Chief Executive Officer of the Housing and Development Board, Dr Cheong Koon Hean, who concurrently is the Deputy Secretary (Special Duties) at the Ministry of National Development in charge of land reclamation issues. She will also have a lunch meeting with the Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, Mr Tan Chuan Jin.
Before concluding her visit, Mrs Lam will visit Gardens by the Bay. Spanning 101 hectares, Gardens by the Bay is a brand new attraction in Marina Bay comprising three waterfront gardens - Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central. Bay South, the largest at 54 hectares, will officially open in June 2012.
Mrs Lam will return to Hong Kong tomorrow night.
Ends/Thursday, May 17, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:28
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