Budget Speech

Promoting Private Development Projects

83.      During the past 10 years, works completed by the public sector only accounted for about 30 to 50 per cent of overall construction output. Government infrastructure projects cannot support all economic activities and provide all employment opportunities in the construction industry. To better co-ordinate development projects involving policies handled by different government departments, we will soon set up a Development Opportunities Office under the Development Bureau to provide an effective platform where bureaux and departments can jointly assess the benefits brought by proposed projects and provide co-ordinated enquiry services. I would like to stress that this mechanism will not replace the existing statutory procedures, public consultation and regulation. To engage the public at the earliest stage on these private development projects, we will re-organise the existing Land and Building Advisory Committee by appointing new members from the community, together with representatives of various trade bodies, to contribute their ideas to the work of the Office.