The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited Kwun Tong District this afternoon (November 13) for an update on the development of Kowloon East and met youth representatives as well as Kwun Tong District Council members.
      
     Accompanied by District Officer (Kwun Tong), Mr Steve Tse, and the Chairman of the Kwun Tong District Council, Dr Bunny Chan, Mr Cheung visited the Energizing Kowloon East Office (EKEO) and received a briefing from representatives of the EKEO and Civil Engineering and Development Department on  smart city development in Kowloon East, including Walkable Kowloon East, Multi-functional Smart Lampposts and the mobile app “My Kowloon East”.
      
     Mr Cheung was shown from an observation deck the proposed locations for Multi-functional Smart Lampposts and the possible alignment of a section of the Environmentally Friendly Linkage System (EFLS) that is being examined to link the former Kai Tak Airport runway tip with Kwun Tong. Multi-functional Lampposts will provide convenient data services and collect real-time city data to enhance the efficiency of the city and management of traffic, thereby transforming Kowloon East into a smart city with comprehensive data and network coverage.  To facilitate the development of Kowloon East into a premium business district, the EFLS will link up key activity nodes within Kowloon East and connect with rail stations as well as nearby public transport and pedestrian facilities, with a view to meeting the additional traffic arising from new developments and enhancing road environment to improve further the accessibility of the district.
      
     An initiative to create a "walkable" Kowloon East has also been launched to improve infrastructure and application of information and communications technology in order to provide quality pedestrian environment and connect major activity and transport nodes within the district. "My Kowloon East” mobile app integrates information on Kowloon East with an aim to promote walkability and collect and disseminate real-time parking vacancy data to enable drivers to locate available parking spaces and reduce traffic volume. 
      
     Mr Cheung was pleased to note the latest development of Kowloon East as the pilot area for developing smart city in Hong Kong. He pointed out that smart city development could improve people’s livelihood and make Hong Kong a better place to live. He encouraged colleagues of EKEO to continue their efforts to develop Kowloon East into the second core business district to sustain Hong Kong's long-term economic growth.
      
     Later, he met Kwun Tong District Council members to listen to their views on the development of Kowloon East.
      
     Before the visit concluded, Mr Cheung met youth representatives and listened to their views on youth-related policy initiatives set out in the Policy Address.
      
     He stressed that the current-term Government would strive to do its best in youth development work by addressing young people's concerns about education, career pursuit and home ownership, and encouraging their participation in public affairs as well as public policy discussion and debate.
     

Ends/Monday, November 13, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:30

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