The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, visited the Government Property Agency (GPA) today (May 19) to learn about its enhanced property management measures and support for frontline workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other major areas of work of the department.
 
     Accompanied by the Government Property Administrator, Miss Leonia Tai, Mr Hui visited various divisions of the GPA and was briefed on their work, including the infection control measures implemented in joint-user government office buildings to combat COVID-19 and operations after public services had returned to normal.
 
     Mr Hui said, to recognise the contributions of cleaning and security staff engaged by government service contractors in the fight against the pandemic, the Government had made use of the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide a $1,000 monthly allowance to eligible workers for not more than four months. He noted that the GPA, as one of the major departments engaging contractors for cleaning and security services, had made arrangements with contractors to disperse the March and April allowance amounting to approximately $6 million, benefiting some 3 000 workers each month.
 
     Separately, the Government announced earlier a series of measures to support enterprises and safeguard jobs to counter the increasingly challenging economic environment, among which was rent concession for about 290 tenancies managed by the GPA, benefiting about 140 tenants.
 
     Another key area of work of the GPA is to take forward projects with cross-department facilities in implementing the "single site, multiple use" model in multi-storey development on government land, so as to optimise the use of land resources.
 
     Mr Hui thanked GPA staff for their dedicated services, saying that the department provides strong support to all other government departments, providing timely solutions to ensure the effective implementation of infection prevention measures that safeguard the well-being of officers working in government buildings and members of the public who visit the premises for public services.

Ends/Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Issued at HKT 17:54

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