Policy Address
Universities’ Research Work
59. Our strong research capabilities have all along been well recognised both nationally and internationally. To date, Hong Kong has 16 State Key Laboratories, 6 Hong Kong Branches of Chinese National Engineering Research Centres and 22 Joint Laboratories with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In recent years, the Central Government has made available quite a number of national research and development projects and funding schemes to researchers in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is blessed with a wealth of talents, with five world top-100 universities and many scholars and experts winning top international and national research awards.
60. To consolidate Hong Kong’s leading position in basic research, we have accepted in principle the proposals of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to provide the two universities with land for research use, including reserving a 4-hectare site currently zoned “Green Belt” at Pokfulam for HKU to construct facilities for deep technology research, as well as supporting CUHK to use a 2.5-hectare site in the vicinity of the CUHK Medical Centre mainly zoned “Government, Institution or Community” to build research facilities and expand the Medical Centre, and at the same time improving the existing public transport interchange and parking facilities at the University Station of the East Rail Line. We will also support The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in exploring the use of its Hung Hom Bay Campus, which is currently used for self-financing post-secondary education, for academic and research development.
Industrial Estates
61. The Government will continue to promote re-industrialisation with a five-pronged approach, namely infrastructure, talents, capital, technology and research, so as to make our industrial value chain more complete and our economy more diversified. The Advanced Manufacturing Centre at the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate and the Microelectronics Centre at the Yuen Long Industrial Estate will be completed in the middle of next year and in 2023 respectively. The good industry response to these two facilities indicates that many enterprises share the view that high value-added and technology-intensive manufacturing processes and production lines can be set up in Hong Kong. In view of this, I have invited the HKSTPC to start planning for the construction of the second Advanced Manufacturing Centre.
