Leveraging Engineering Expertise to Advance the Northern Metropolis, Industrial Upgrading and Low-carbon Smart City Development
(Hong Kong, 28 August 2026) The 2026 Policy Address will be delivered on 16 September. The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (hereinafter “the HKIE”) has submitted its recommendations to the Chief Executive on the 2026 Policy Address. The recommendations cover areas including promoting economic transformation and enhancing urban resilience, offering views from an engineering professional perspective for reference by the Government and various sectors of the community. The HKIE has also earlier submitted its views on Hong Kong’s alignment with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, in the hope that the relevant content may be taken into account by the Government in advancing policy visions and formulating concrete implementation plans.
A detailed summary of the HKIE’s recommendations for the 2026 Policy Address can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Northern Metropolis: Industry-led Development with Infrastructure First
The HKIE considers that the Northern Metropolis should not be regarded solely as a land and housing supply project. Rather, it also has the potential to be developed into a platform for Hong Kong’s economic transformation, industrial upgrading, zero-carbon industries, artificial intelligence applications, and smart city pilots over the next decade.
Strengthening the overall planning of infrastructure, energy, digital governance, and industrial layout in the Northern Metropolis, including promoting digital twins, integrated underground utility corridors, zero-carbon industrial parks, energy management for data centres, wetland conservation, and blue-green infrastructure, will help enhance development efficiency, urban resilience, and long-term competitiveness.
Low-carbon Transition and Sustainable Finance
To support Hong Kong in consolidating its position as an international green and sustainable finance centre, the HKIE recommends exploring the establishment of a more unified carbon emissions verification and third-party certification system, as well as progressively developing an engineering carbon database, so that carbon reduction outcomes in buildings, infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing can be more effectively made measurable, traceable, and verifiable.
The HKIE also recommends accelerating the expansion of the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance and exploring the establishment of a professional engineering verification framework, so as to further leverage the technical verification role of professional engineers in green finance and transition finance projects.
Industrial Upgrading, Artificial Intelligence, and Engineering Innovation
The HKIE considers that the engineering profession can provide important support for promoting new industrialisation and innovative applications. The Government may consider establishing a complete pathway from testing and verification to procurement and application, so as to facilitate the translation of local research and engineering innovations into practical products and public services.
The HKIE recommends exploring the establishment of an urban engineering innovation application framework and public testing platforms for artificial intelligence. Priority should be given to promoting applications such as AI-assisted design review, predictive maintenance of public assets, smart site safety monitoring, energy optimisation, transport and logistics modelling, and emergency response coordination.
Construction Industry Modernisation and Life-cycle Carbon Reduction
The HKIE recommends considering the formulation of a life-cycle net-zero roadmap for the construction industry, extending carbon management from raw materials, design, construction, operation, and maintenance to the demolition stage, thereby helping the industry promote carbon reduction in a more systematic manner.
The Government should also continue to accelerate the promotion of Modular Integrated Construction (MiC), Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MiMEP), robotics, digital workflows, and AI-based construction management, so as to enhance productivity, safety standards, project efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
Long-term Energy Planning and Urban Resilience
The HKIE considers that the energy mix is closely related to Hong Kong’s economic security, industrial competitiveness, and decarbonisation capability. The Government may consider formulating a transparent long-term energy mix roadmap to coordinate the development of nuclear power, regional renewable energy, local distributed renewable energy, hydrogen energy, and other zero-carbon technologies.
At the same time, Hong Kong should further strengthen AI-enabled inspections, smart monitoring, blue-green infrastructure, sponge city drainage systems, and climate risk management, in order to enhance urban safety and the city’s capacity to respond to extreme weather.
Greater Bay Area Cooperation and Engineering Talent Development
The HKIE recommends further deepening cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in areas such as carbon verification, green finance taxonomy, clean energy, hydrogen energy, smart construction, medical device certification, and engineering professional qualifications, thereby leveraging Hong Kong’s institutional strengths as a connector between the Chinese Mainland and the world.
The HKIE also considers that Hong Kong should continue to build an engineering talent pipeline geared towards artificial intelligence, low-carbon transition, and new industrialisation. This includes promoting the digitalisation of engineering education, strengthening interdisciplinary training, expanding the number of subsidised places under the Engineering Graduate Training Scheme, and enhancing continuing professional development content to meet the needs of future industrial and urban development.
Engineering Expertise to Support Hong Kong’s High-quality Development
In the face of rapid technological change, green transition, and accelerating regional integration, Hong Kong is at a critical stage of development. As an important opportunity for Hong Kong to align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan and advance economic transformation, the 2026 Policy Address should further translate strategic visions into concrete, measurable, and sustainable outcomes.
The HKIE will continue to uphold the spirit of professionalism, pragmatism and service to society, leverage the technical and systems integration capabilities of the engineering profession, and looks forward to maintaining close communication and collaboration with the Government, the industry and all sectors of society to help Hong Kong seize the opportunities arising from transformation, enhance urban and economic resilience, and better integrate into and serve the overall development of the country.
For enquiries, please contact:
Corporate Communications Section
Tel: 2895 4446
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Email: corpcom@hkie.org.hk