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Planning, Land and Infrastructure
the commencement of the amendment legislation in April 2015. As at December, there were about 342,000 registered construction workers.
Construction Manpower Development
The CIC continued its efforts to enhance the manpower supply by training local workers and attracting more new entrants, particularly young people, to join the construction industry. Training initiatives included the 'Enhanced Construction Manpower Training Scheme' (launched by the CIC and the Development Bureau) which had trained over 6,000 semi-skilled workers by the end of 2014 for trades with projected labour shortages, acute ageing or recruitment difficulties.
Promotion of Professional Services
The Development Bureau continued discussions in 2014 with the Hong Kong construction industry and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on liberalisation measures to allow Hong Kong construction professionals to provide services in the Mainland. An agreement to achieve basic liberalisation of trade in services between the Mainland and Hong Kong in Guangdong was signed in December. Under the agreement, Hong Kong construction-related enterprises with a commercial presence in Guangdong will be treated in the same way as Mainland enterprises, subject to restrictions in limited service areas only.
The Development Bureau will continue to collaborate with the relevant Mainland authorities to promote mutual recognition of construction professional qualifications.
In April, the Development Bureau and the Ministry of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Co-operation to facilitate the engagement of Hong Kong consultants to undertake supervision work for the Mainland's foreign aid construction projects. Two projects, one in Cambodia and the other in Nepal, have been selected for pilot implementation. Two Hong Kong consultancy firms have successfully won the contracts.
Website
Development Bureau: www.devb.gov.hk
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