ýÿThe Buildings Department (BD) launched Building Safety Week 2023 today (October 21), with a view to further promoting building safety messages to the public through a series of activities, and to connect with the public and the building industry to create a safe and sustainable living environment for the community.

     Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Building Safety Week 2023 at Citywalk today, the Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands), Ms Doris Ho, said that safeguarding building safety is an important task for people's livelihood. The Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach, through enforcement, support and promotion, to help the public build and upkeep their ideal homes.
      
     Ms Ho said that the Government has been motivating owners to carry out regular maintenance and repair for their buildings. Partnering with the Urban Renewal Authority, the Government has launched a number of building rehabilitation programmes to provide financial and professional technical support to the owners in need. She called on the public to conduct regular "health checks" for the buildings. Proper management and timely maintenance not only help extend the life of the buildings, but also make the buildings healthier and more long-lasting, providing a safe and happy living environment for residents.

     Delivering a welcome speech at the opening ceremony, the Director of Buildings, Ms Clarice Yu, said that the spalling of concrete or rendering from the external walls of buildings in recent months, as well as the demolition of part of the structural walls of a unit, have shown that many owners are facing the ageing of their buildings and have insufficient knowledge of building safety, which results in building neglect. In this regard, apart from organising various activities actively to enhance public awareness of building safety, the BD has also co-operated with building professional institutes and industry members to disseminate building safety messages to the community. This June, the BD, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Structural Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, launched a series of educational and publicity activities on the proper carrying out of alteration works.

     Ms Yu said that to foster a building safety culture and remind owners of their responsibilities to maintain their properties and refrain from carrying out unauthorised building works, the BD will continue to co-operate with various stakeholders to produce a variety of educational materials and step up publicity to promote building safety.

     Building Safety Week is a major event of the BD's annual education and publicity efforts. During the week, the Building Safety Carnival, which runs from today to October 27 at Citywalk, aims to help members of the public acquire proper building safety knowledge through playing games in a relaxed manner.

     The BD will organise the Buildings Department Inno Tech Open Day on October 25 and 26 at the BD Headquarters, West Kowloon Government Offices. The BD will demonstrate several innovative technologies, introduce the operation of the BD's Mobile Command Unit and the use of drones to inspect the external walls of buildings and the like. A number of talks on building safety, including the mandatory building and window inspection schemes, interior alteration and addition works and Modular Integrated Construction will also be held at the Open Day. Members of the public can visit the BD's website (www.careyourbuilding.bd.gov.hk/en/events_publicity/31.html) for more details about Open Day activities and registration matters.

     In addition, the BD will hold the Building Safety Symposium on October 27 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum as the closing event of Building Safety Week 2023.

     For the latest updates on Building Safety Week 2023, please visit the webpage of the BD (www.bd.gov.hk/en/whats-new/events-and-publicity/index.html).

Ends/Saturday, October 21, 2023
Issued at HKT 16:19

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