ICE200 Distinguished Lecture - Hong Kong
Former railway chief James Blake OBE, GBS called for engineers in Hong Kong to continue to improve control and transparency within projects to maintain its global lead.
Hong Kong has the best infrastructure design, delivery and asset management of the past and present – and potentially in the future, too, according to a railway engineering expert.
James Blake, OBE, GBS, former director of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), gave this message to an audience of over 400 people at a ICE200 Distinguished Lecture in the city on 30 August 2018.
"Hong Kong’s infrastructure development has been consistently recognised for their project performance and construction efficiency. Infrastructure in Hong Kong is ranked the first by the World Economic Forum for eight consecutive years,” he said.
Mr Blake said that Hong Kong had achieved its reputation thanks to three factors: projects are fit for purpose, command and control, and trust and transparency.
He used his lecture to highlight how Hong Kong has successfully delivered sophisticated and modern infrastructure between the 1980s to the 2000s - and challenged engineers to build on past achievements.
Major civil engineering projects in Hong Kong include the Victoria Harbour area treatment, one of the 200 projects highlighted to celebrate the ICE's 200th anniversary.
Mr Blake also emphasised the importance of using emerging technology, in particular Building Information Modelling (BIM), to transform the delivery of projects.
Meanwhile, a panel discussion following Mr Blake’s lecture identified that there’s still work to be done.
The panel, comprising Mr Blake, CS Wai, managing director of Urban Renewal Authority, Thomas Ho, chief executive of Gammon Construction, and Ken Ho, ICE Hong Kong chairman, said there was a need to continue to improve command and control, as well as trust and transparency, within the industry. They also talked about how the industry can promote more innovation.
This article was originally published on 19 Sept 2018 by ICE. It was written by Eva Kong.
--The Institution of Civil Engineers
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Listed despite problems with its design.
Zen and the art of cycling exploration.
Design Council Homes Taskforce launched
To support government 1.5 million homes target within UK climate commitments.
The story of this knowledge quarter building.
In ecology, in hydrology, in biology and in architecture.
Creating environments that promote physical, mental, and social well-being.
UK cases of neutral current diversion
Research project looks for example contributions.
Overstocking and macro-economics cause a decline.
The 2024 update of the Common Assessment Standard
Demonstrating organisational capability’ to fulfil roles under the Building Safety Act.
56 recommendations for a better built environment
Published by the CIC ahead of the King’s Speech.
SkillELECTRIC Top 8 Competitors Named
in annual search for the UK’s best student electrician.
CIOB Diversity and Inclusion technical information sheet
Step-by-step guide on implementing D and I practices.
Conservation and the Indian City. Book review.
Reversibility in conservation ethics
Learning from painting conservation.
Where It's AT Podcast launched!
New CIAT Architectural Technology Podcast goes live.