Hong Kong and Mainland Sign Cooperation for Quality and Safety Management in Beijing

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, today (December 18) witnessed the signing of the Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) in Beijing.

Mr Tse expressed his gratitude to the SAMR for its support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government's safety monitoring, management and quality control, as well as the signing of the Cooperation Arrangement with the EMSD of the HKSAR Government, with a view to strengthening information communication and co-ordinating co-operation with the Mainland in this regard, in support of the integration of the HKSAR into the country's development.

He said, "The Cooperation Arrangement covers a wide range of areas, including the co-operation and exchanges on the promotion of hydrogen development, gas safety, mechanical installations safety, electrical products safety, energy efficiency marking and labelling, carbon footprint/carbon labelling, metering, standards convergence, etc. The objective is to ensure effective implementation of safety monitoring, management and quality control by the Mainland and the HKSAR in the future."

The Cooperation Arrangement was signed by the Director of Department of International Cooperation (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs) of the SAMR, Mr Liu Jiannan, and the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Poon Kwok-ying, and was witnessed by Mr Tse and an official of the SAMR.

During his visit to Beijing, Mr Tse also visited Goldwind carbon neutral smart park, which is the country's first renewable energy carbon neutral smart park, integrating renewable energy, smart micro-grids, smart water management, green agriculture as well as sports and health into a green park ecosystem. He also inspected liquid hydrogen-fuelled vehicle to learn about the latest development and application of on-board liquid hydrogen storage system.

In addition, Mr Tse also called on China Certification & Inspection Group, primarily focused on inspection, testing, certification, standards and metrology, to understand the country's inspection and certification work, as well as the convergence of China and international certification standards in the field of dual carbon and promotion cases in the Mainland.

Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon (December 19).

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SEE witnesses signing of Cooperation Arrangement on Quality and Safety Management between State Administration for Market Regulation and EMSD Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Government welcomes passage of Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill

The Government welcomes the Legislative Council's passage of the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill today (December 18) to improve the longstanding payment problems in the construction industry and provide better protection for the stakeholders in the supply chains of the construction industry to receive their entitled payment on time, while also seeking to help reduce occurrence of wage arrears of workers. The Government also expects that the project procurement cost could be reduced over time as price premiums for risk in association with payment problems will gradually decline following improved security of payment.

The Construction Industry Security of Payment Ordinance (the Ordinance) will improve contractual payment terms, prohibiting the use of unfair payment terms such as "pay when paid". It also introduces an adjudication mechanism to provide a speedy, cost-effective and binding resolution process for payment disputes in the interim.

The Ordinance applies to main contracts for carrying construction work (with contract values not less than $5 million), and main contracts for the supply of goods (e.g. materials and plant) or services related to the construction work (with contract value not less than $0.5 million). If the main contract is covered, subcontracts along the same supply chain, regardless the amount, are also governed by the Ordinance. The Ordinance applies to both public and private projects, with a wider scope of application for the former. For instance, the Ordinance does not apply to: (1) contracts for works on existing private residential buildings (e.g. interior renovation, building maintenance, etc); and (2) contracts for relatively minor works on existing private non-residential buildings, i.e. those works not requiring approval and consent of the Building Authority under the Building Ordinance (Cap. 123) (e.g. maintenance and repair of building services installation, shop renovation, etc).

The Ordinance will be gazetted on December 27, while the power of the Secretary for Development for registration and administration of Adjudicator Nominating Bodies (ANBs) will take effect on the gazettal date, the remaining provisions will come into operation on the expiry of eight months (i.e. August 28 of next year). Construction contracts entered into on or after that date will be governed by the Ordinance.

Prior to the implementation of the remaining provisions of the Ordinance in August next year, the Government and the industry will undertake a series of preparatory work, including registering ANBs, training a sufficient number of adjudicators, reviewing and revising the standard contract and subcontract templates, and conducting publicity and promotion activities. The Government strives to publish relevant documents and accept ANB applications in January next year, allowing the relevant organisations to submit their applications in a timely manner to align with the implementation timeline of the Ordinance.