Following is a question by the Hon Elizabeth Quat and a reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (October 14):

Question:

     Computing power is the most crucial factor of production in the era of artificial intelligence. Regarding supporting the development of the intelligent computing industry, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it is learnt that the total supply of computing power in Hong Kong is currently insufficient, and that the utilisation rate of existing computing power facilities (including Cyberport's Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre) has long remained high with demand exceeding supply, resulting in an interim gap in the supply of computing power in Hong Kong before the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster comes into operation, and the industry has further pointed out that even after the operation of the cluster, the computing power will still be insufficient to support development needs, of the short-, medium- and long-term measures to support the development of the industry;

(2) whether it will expedite the study on the development of a "computing power exchange" and the establishment of mechanisms for the certification, trading, settlement and pricing of computing power, so as to transform Hong Kong's traditional financial strengths into advantages in resource allocation in the era of AI, as well as explore ways to leverage the collaboration model with other Mainland cities to open up a new channel for "tokens going global"; and

(3) as there are views that the existing planning has not fully taken into account the enormous demand for water and electricity required for developing the intelligent computing industry, whether the Government will study the construction of a "dedicated water and electricity supply corridor for the intelligent computing industry" from the Mainland to Hong Kong, and negotiate the addition of a "dedicated cooling water quota for the intelligent computing industry in the Northern Metropolis" under the existing Dongjiang water supply agreement?

Reply:

President:

     The First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) identifies AI as an important industry for the future development of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will actively promote the development of computing infrastructure, fostering the healthy development of AI and the intelligent computing industry.

     In response to the question raised by the Hon Elizabeth Quat, upon consulting the Development Bureau, the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, our reply is as follows:

(1) Hong Kong's overall computing power has reached 5 000 peta floating-point operations per second (PFLOPS), of which Cyberport's Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre (AISC) accounts for 3 000 PFLOPS. The current utilisation rate of the AISC has exceeded 90 per cent, reflecting strong market demand for AI computing services. The Government will proactively increase the supply of computing power and enhance resource utilisation through short, medium and long-term measures.

     In the short term, the Government will make good use of existing facilities and the Artificial Intelligence Subsidy Scheme (AISS) to support the research and development, model training and application needs of local research institutes, universities and enterprises. The Committee of the AISS will review arrangements for the allocation of computing power resources and their duration of use as appropriate, having regard to the actual needs of the subsidised projects and overall status of resource utilisation, with a view to enhancing its efficiency. Cyberport will also continue to review the service capacity of the AISC and future demand, and explore feasible options for increasing its computing power.

     In the medium term, the construction of the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster has already commenced. The site will be developed into a regional data facility cluster of advanced data centres and related industries. It is expected to commence its first phase of operations in 2027 and become fully operational in or before 2032, when it will provide 180 000 PFLOPS of computing power, substantially increasing Hong Kong's computing power.

     In the long term, the Government is preparing to commission a new consultancy study on computing power to analyse Hong Kong's future demand. Guided by the core directions of "high efficiency computing power, stable electricity supply, low-carbon transition", the study will optimise the operations of data centres and the layout of computing power in Hong Kong, providing a basis for planning the long-term development of Hong Kong's intelligent computing industry.

(2) In the long run, the Government recognises that Hong Kong has the strengths and potential to support the development of activities such as computing power trading and the provision of token-based AI services to overseas markets. At present, however, the priority of Hong Kong is to strengthen its computing power infrastructure. From the perspective of financial markets, establishing a comprehensive product ecosystem, including relevant trading, settlement and price discovery mechanisms requires the foundation of a mature underlying market and a sound market ecosystem.  

     At this stage, the Government will focus on developing Hong Kong's intelligent computing industry and supporting infrastructure to strengthen the computing power supply. We will also closely monitor the latest developments in the intelligent computing industry in the Chinese Mainland and overseas, maintain communication with the industry, and explore arrangements that can enhance the efficiency of computing power resource allocation and promote the development of AI and the intelligent computing industry.

     On regional collaboration, the Government will continue to leverage Hong Kong's roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder" to strengthen co-operation with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in areas such as computing power resources and market development. We also welcome service providers, including operators of computing power facilities in the GBA, to provide services to Hong Kong enterprises in response to market demand.

     As regards cross-boundary AI and computing services, including the provision of token-based AI services to overseas markets, their development must take into account factors such as data flows, cybersecurity, personal data protection, and applicable laws and regulations. The Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau is facilitating cross-boundary co-operation and AI innovation through the facilitation measure of the Standard Contract for the Cross-boundary Flow of Personal Information within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Mainland, Hong Kong), as well as efforts to promote the secure flow of Mainland scientific research data to the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, etc. The Government will work together with the industry and relevant stakeholders to actively explore co-operation models conducive to the long-term development of AI industry in Hong Kong, further enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness as an international hub for AI and intelligent computing services.

(3) In planning the development of the intelligent computing industry, the Government will review the supporting water and electricity infrastructure in parallel. The planned development of the industries with high water consumption in the Northern Metropolis (NM) is mainly concentrated in San Tin, Sandy Ridge and Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen. Having considered the latest development needs of the NM, including the planning information on the intelligent computing industry from the Digital Policy Office, the preliminary assessment of the Water Supplies Department (WSD) indicates that the area as a whole has sufficient supplies of fresh water and recycled water to complement its development.

     To address the water requirements of cooling systems during the operation of intelligent computing facilities, the Government will continue to encourage enterprises to adopt water-saving technologies and make good use of different water sources, including the appropriate allocation of fresh water and recycled water for cooling purposes. To provide a stable and economical water supply, the Government will consider factors such as projected water demand and the associated timetable, cost-effectiveness, the availability of fresh water in the vicinity, and the availability of effluent from tertiary sewage treatment for producing recycled water. The WSD will upgrade water supply infrastructure as appropriate to meet specific needs. There is no need to establish a dedicated water supply corridor or quota for the intelligent computing industry at this stage.

     On electricity supply, the two power companies are required under the Scheme of Control Agreements to provide, operate and maintain sufficient electricity-related facilities and supply electricity to meet demand. The CLP Power Hong Kong Limited has undertaken construction and planning work to meet the electricity demands of Hong Kong's future development, which would be sufficient to support the overall development of the I&T industry (including data centres).

Ends/Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:08

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