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"Innovation and technology, one of the six industries for priority development, holds the key to Hong Kong's future," the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, said today (May 24).
Speaking at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation's 10th Anniversary Celebration, Mr Tsang stressed that to sustain our competitiveness, Hong Kong must make good use of technology to stay innovative.
Emphasising the Government's firm commitment to enhance Hong Kong's innovation and technology base, Mr Tsang noted that it had decided to expand Hong Kong Science Park by developing Phase 3 at a cost of $4.9 billion.
"This will enable more technology companies to operate here and provide more employment for our engineers, scientists and technology workers," he added.
The Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) has continued to support applied research and development projects. In 2010, ITF expenditure on these projects reached a record level of $800 million. The Government has made improvements to the operation of the Fund to better support the commercialisation drive.
Mr Tsang said the Corporation has also been instrumental in nurturing valuable technology start-ups. He said, "At the Asian Innovation Awards 2010, it was encouraging to note that two of the 12 finalists came from Science Park. Against formidable competition, the Technopreneur Award went to a company from Science Park.
"The Corporation has been actively promoting various activities to develop a culture that promotes scientific discovery and that encourages our younger generation to pursue innovation and technology as a lifelong career."
These activities include the InnoCarnival that takes place right here every November as well as the ongoing science-related activities of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.
At today's 10th Anniversary Celebration, the Corporation also announced the opening of its new flagship building, Green 18. Green 18 is an eight-storey, state-of-the-art environmentally friendly and operationally efficient building located in Phase 2 of Hong Kong Science Park.
"Green 18 has been designed to showcase the practice of green technologies. I look forward to seeing in this special building the promised savings arising from actual energy use as compared with other buildings. The lessons learned from Experiment Green 18 will be applied to other buildings in Hong Kong, helping reduce our carbon footprint," Mr Tsang said.
Ends/Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:33
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