Building Safety Week 2022 launches today (with photos)
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Speaking at the opening ceremony of Building Safety Week 2022 today, the Acting Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands), Mr Vic Yau, said that building safety is very important. The problems arising from building neglect not only would affect the users but also pose safety hazards to the community.
Mr Yau pointed out that the Government had strived to assist property owners to ensure building safety. An example was the "WIN SAFE" mobile application newly launched by the BD, which could facilitate owners to search for suitable qualified persons to follow up the mandatory window inspection notices.
He remarked that one of the policy measures in the newly announced Policy Address was to undertake more default works for private buildings with long outstanding investigation or repair orders and potential safety hazards. On building safety key performance indicators (KPI), the Government had also set clear targets for various aspects such as removing unauthorised structures and repairing dangerous or dilapidated buildings.
In the welcome speech, the Director of Buildings, Ms Clarice Yu, said that Tsuen Wan was chosen to kick off the Building Safety Week 2022 because of its vibrant community with a mixture of old and new buildings.
She also said that the BD spared no effort in promoting building safety to the general public, especially the younger generation. For example, the BD's Building Safety Pioneer Programme has organised Career Orientation Days for participating secondary school students to visit architectural, surveying or engineering consultancy firms to enable them to have a better understanding of building safety related careers. In addition, they were also invited to join the Building Safety Video Making Competition to learn about the importance of timely repair and maintenance. The department had also produced a fun series of "Flat Check" videos to convey building safety messages through the visit of an alien.
Building Safety Week is a major event of the BD's annual publicity and education event. The Building Safety Carnival, which runs from today to October 28, allows participants to transform into building superheroes to learn how to identify hazards in buildings and the way to rectify them so as to strengthen public's knowledge of building safety and understanding of the importance of timely repair and maintenance.
Other events include the BD Inno Tech Open Day and the Building Safety Symposium. The BD Inno Tech Open Day is also one of the activities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
For the latest updates on Building Safety Week 2022, please visit the webpage of the BD (www.bd.gov.hk/en/whats-new/events-and-publicity/index.html).
Ends/Saturday, October 22, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:33
Issued at HKT 16:33
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