Hong Kong, 22 November 2016 - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP”) today staged a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the official beginning of Hong Kong Science Park expansion programme. The expansion will see the addition of two purpose-built R&D-fit office buildings that will provide extra capacity to sustain the vibrant growth of the innovation and technology (“I&T”) ecosystem in Hong Kong.
The ground-breaking ceremony was officiated by the Hon C Y Leung, GBM, GBS, JP, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; the Hon Nicholas W. YANG, JP, the Secretary for Innovation and Technology; and the Hon Mrs Fanny Law, GBS, JP, HKSTP Chairperson.
HKSTP received support from the HKSAR Government for the HK$4.4 billion expansion programme earlier this year. Under the programme, two buildings of 14 and 15 storeys will be built on a 1.18 hectare site west of Science Park Phase 3. The new towers are expected to provide an additional around 74,000 sqm or 22% more office space when completed in 2020.
The Government’s continuous investment in I&T infrastructure signifies a strong commitment to providing a favourable environment for a vibrant I&T ecosystem, which will benefit the society as a whole, with the industry in particular, in the long run.
HKSTP’s Chairperson the Hon Fanny Law, GBS, JP, said, “Today’s groundbreaking ceremony marks the commencement of a new phase of development of the Science Park which is a testimony of the HKSAR government’s commitment to the promotion of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. I am most grateful to the Government’s unwavering support and the funding approval from the Legislative Council for Science Park’s Expansion.”
“Thanks to our professional teams in HKSTP, we have an excellent track record of completing projects within budget and on time, and delivering high quality. The recently completed Phase 3 has achieved over 10% saving and won 10 prestigious building awards. I am sure my colleagues will keep up this record in the expansion programme.” said Mrs Law.
“Earlier this year, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of HKSTP. Given the encouraging progress over the past two years, I believe, if we continue on this path with the time-honored Hong Kong spirit and efficiency, and with all stakeholders working together in concert , Hong Kong would rank among the top 10 global start-up ecosystems, and be widely recognised as an innovation hub in Asia in future,” added Mrs Law.
HKSTP Chief Executive Officer Albert Wong said: “HKSTP’s goal is to double the size of the start-up community in the Park and attract more leading overseas technology corporations to our ecosystem in the coming few years. Even as we are beginning the expansion of the Park’s infrastructure, we already have many strategic initiatives in place to ensure our value-added services exceed the needs of all our stakeholders. We welcome local and international innovators to leverage the initiatives and facilities already in place at Science Park to ramp up their R&D work, and we endeavour to provide more of such tailor-designed support measures to fuel the growth of our ecosystem as our facilities expand.”
Ongoing development keeps Science Park in tune with evolving needs
The Science Park, having completed its three-phase development on the 22 hectare site this year as planned, currently provides a total of 330,000 sqm office area in 21 office blocks. The three-phase development spanning 15 years as per the original plan enables Science Park to contribute significant economic benefits to Hong Kong annually through empowering the vibrant growth of the I&T sector.
Catering to the growing needs of different forms of space to innovate, to inspire and be inspired through interacting with other creative minds in the ecosystem, HKSTP has introduced thematic collaborative work spaces within the Park such as Robotics Garage and Open Data Studio. Such developments show that Science Park will continue to be an organic being that will keep evolving in tune with the needs of the I&T ecosystem.
The international achievements of the Science Park community also reflect the ongoing success of HKSTP’s efforts – Science Park incubatees and graduates have accumulatively registered 907 IPs and obtained a total of about HK$1,650million in angel funding and venture capital investment, and they have received 436 local and international awards and recognitions as at the end of October 2016.
