LCQ16: Universal Accessibility Programme
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Question:
The Government launched the Universal Accessibility Programme (UA Programme) in August 2012 to provide more barrier-free access facilities (i.e. lifts and ramps). As at the end of December 2025, a total of 270 items under the UA Programme had been completed. The Highways Department has commissioned the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to engage registered lift contractors for the repair and maintenance of the completed lifts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the total expenditure on the repair and maintenance of completed lift items under the UA Programme in each of the past five years, and the average annual maintenance expenditure per lift;
(2) of the respective numbers of lifts under the UA Programme that had to be suspended from service for more than 24 hours and for more than seven days due to breakdowns in each of the past three years; and the details of the case involving the longest service suspension due to a single breakdown and the case involving the highest number of breakdowns in a year (including the location involved, cause of the breakdown, number of days of suspension and the repair costs concerned);
(3) of the respective numbers of lift items completed, under construction and at the planning stage under the UA Programme in the southwest New Territories (including Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi) at present; and the respective average numbers of hours of service suspension of completed lifts in the southwest New Territories due to routine maintenance and breakdowns over the past three years;
(4) whether the authorities will attach greater importance to the whole-life cycle maintenance costs of lifts when vetting and assessing lift maintenance contracts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) as there are views that with the continuous increase in the number of completed lift items under the UA Programme, both the day-to-day repair and maintenance and the emergency repairs of these items rely on professional engineering talent, whether the Government has assessed the demand for and the shortfall in manpower for lift repair and maintenance at present and over the next five years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Universal Accessibility (UA) Programme aims to retrofit public walkways with barrier-free lifts and ramps to enhance the convenience of the public in using these walkways. The Government attaches great importance to the maintenance works of the lifts. The lifts under the UA Programme are maintained by registered lift contractors appointed by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). The lift contractors perform routine maintenance inspections and arrange preventive maintenance early as needed, in order to enhance the safety and reliability of the lifts.
In consultation with the Highways Department (HyD) and the EMSD, my reply to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) and (4) The recurrent expenditure for each lift under the UA Programme, including electricity charges, the necessary maintenance costs and other relevant expenses, varies depending on the design of each lift (including capacity, size specifications, other ancillary facilities, service age, usage conditions etc) and is estimated to be on average around $370,000 per lift per annum. The HyD and the EMSD do not maintain breakdown figures of maintenance expenditures.
When preparing lift maintenance service contracts, the HyD and the EMSD take into account a range of factors, including the lift's condition, age, usage rate, maintenance cost-effectiveness, and breakdown risk. Furthermore, when assessing lift maintenance service contracts, the EMSD considers the technical aspects of the contractors, such as their maintenance proposals and technical support.
(2) According to the EMSD's records, over the past three years (i.e. from October 2023 to September 2026), 87 and 13 lifts completed under the UA Programme had to be suspended from service for more than 24 hours and for more than seven days respectively because of a single breakdown. The longest suspension caused by a single breakdown lasted for 19 days. The lift concerned is located at the footbridge across Aberdeen Praya Road near Nam Ning Street. Its ground floor landing door glass was damaged by an external object, and it took time to order replacement parts for the repair. During the service suspension, members of the public could alternatively use the footbridge's barrier-free ramp.
The lift with the highest number of breakdowns is located at the King's Road Flyover across Kornhill Road near Taikoo Shing. The breakdowns were mainly caused by debris in the door track and obstructed door sensors, which stopped the lift doors from opening and closing properly. The lift broke down 14 times in total over the above three-year period, and each suspension lasted about two hours on average. Most of the breakdowns happened in 2024. Upon the replacement of components, the number of breakdowns of the lift dropped significantly in 2025 and 2026. The EMSD does not maintain breakdown figures of the maintenance expenditure of each case.
(3) As at the end of September 2026, 19 and five UA Programme items had been completed and were under construction respectively in Tsuen Wan District, and 27 and 11 items respectively in Kwai Tsing District. After consulting the Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing District Councils in August this year, six newly proposed items in Tsuen Wan District and 10 newly proposed items in Kwai Tsing District are initially identified. The HyD will carry out preliminary planning and technical feasibility studies for the newly proposed items in phases.
According to the EMSD's records, over the past three years (i.e. from October 2023 to September 2026), among the 65 completed lifts under the UA Programme in New Territories South West, the average service suspension time due to routine maintenance was about 1.2 hours per lift per week. There were about 330 cases of service suspension involving breakdown repairs (including repairs requiring the replacement of parts), with each suspension lasting about 11 hours on average.
(5) There are currently over 70 000 lifts in Hong Kong, of which about 580 are under the UA Programme. These lifts therefore have little impact on the overall demand for lift and escalator maintenance across the territory. Furthermore, for the completed lifts under the Programme, the EMSD's lift contractors have met the performance pledge in terms of the time taken to complete repairs. The EMSD has been closely monitoring the manpower situation of the lift and escalator industry, and regularly conducts manpower surveys with registered contractors. The number of registered engineers and general workers increased from about 7 600 in 2019 to about 9 670 in September 2026, representing an increase of about 27 per cent, which is significantly higher than the about 11 per cent increase in the total number of lifts and escalators during the same period. Overall, the industry's manpower situation has improved over the past few years. There are now enough lift and escalator workers to meet the manpower needs of lift and escalator maintenance. The Government has also implemented various measures to attract local youth to join the industry, enhance talent training, establish clear career promotion pathways, and introduce various talent admission schemes, so as to prepare for the growing engineering demands for lifts and escalators in the long run.
Ends/Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:15
Issued at HKT 11:15
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