The Planning Department (PlanD) had participated in the Civil Service Exchange Programme jointly organised by the Civil Service Bureau and Mainland municipalities, and had hosted six senior officers from Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Shenzhen. These officers were posted to PlanD starting from December 2024 for professional exchanges lasting for three weeks to three months.
Throughout the exchange, the visiting officers engaged fully in a series of activities arranged by PlanD, including briefings on diverse planning topics and site visits to various developments/locations in the territory (e.g. Northern Metropolis, Kai Tak Development Area, West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station, waterfront promenades, countryside and nature reserves). In addition, they presented their takeaways from the exchange experience. Taking the experience further, two Shenzhen officers conducted planning and development-related studies on a range of themes, covering large-scale land disposal, low-altitude economy, heritage conservation, eco-tourism and silver economy. Apart from sharing their experiences in the Mainland, they also had insightful discussions with our colleagues on the development of Hong Kong.
Our colleagues benefited greatly from the exchange programme. The programme not only broadened their horizons, but also deepened their grasp of the prevailing town planning trends in the Mainland. It was hoped that the experience would inspire new perspectives among all our colleagues.
Visiting officers with Director of Planning, Mr Ivan Chung (fifth left) and our colleagues
Visited the Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office
